A Very Realistic Naruto High School Story
by Wrath Flamesoul
Summary: Five popular kids. Three loners. Six kids stuck between the two groups. Three OCs. Passion. Romance. A party. A birthday. A dance. A play. A kiss. And... a cat? Who let the cat in the classroom! Rating may change as story progresses.
1. Prologue

A Realistic High School Story (Naruto Fanfiction)

Chapter One – Concerning the Characters…

Hi there! I'm Katsuko Mizuki (KAHT-sko ME-zoo-ki), but you can call me Katsuko, kay? I'll be you're guide for this chapter, and I'm also one of Wrath's original characters that will pop up in the story, along with my good (evil rival) friend Unari Sabishii (OO-nah-ree SAH-bee-she). **Wrath: Dude, stop breaking the fourth wall! **Sorry. Unari and I are just a couple of girls who moved to Konoha five years ago… **That's better.**

Okay, so let me give you a real quick briefing on the setting/characters/etc…

Konoha was a bustling city, with many people living and working in it. It was the most beautiful city in the Fire County (**A/N: Note, it's COUNTY, as in Lake County, not COUNTRY, as in Jamaica). **One of it's more outstanding points of mention was the famous Konoha High School **(A/N: Original, huh?)**, which could school up to 156 students per grade. The largest class of the school was currently the class of 2011, AKA the current Juniors class. It had over 160 students altogether, but luckily they all had a wide range of interests, so the classrooms were seldom packed too uncomfortably, except of course homeroom. There were many students, but the ones we're focusing on are the only actually important ones.

First, there were the popular girls. You know, the kind that always wore makeup and clothes that were "in style", and often wore enough perfume to alert a person of their approach five minutes before they were actually in sight.

Ino Yamanaka, the leader of the group, was an unquestionably beautiful blonde with sparkling blue eyes and a smile that made boys melt. She always kept her hair up in a ponytail, where it dangled down to her shoulder blades. She was bossy, arrogant, and sometimes a little irrational, but she was still the one to go to if you'd just broken up with someone or if you needed help with how to dress or act on a first date. Ino was the top in her class at cheerleading and debate, and had a monster crush on a certain raven-haired boy we'll talk about later on. Her obsession with this boy sometimes led her to get lower grades; in fact her highest grade point average had been a 3.45.

Her friend and rival in love was Sakura Haruno, who for some reason or another had been dying her hair bright candy pink since she was in fourth grade. She had a slightly larger forehead than the others, but one tended to overlook that when they looked at the rest of her. She had a nice figure, like Ino, sparkling emerald eyes that seemed to flash like lightning when she was angry, and a cute, cheery smile that made her look like an innocent little grade school student. She was second in debate, but preferred tennis to cheerleading. Like Ino, she had a monster crush on the same guy who will remain unnamed for now, but unlike Ino, her obsession with this boy didn't get in the way of her straight A's. It did, however, lead her to grow her hair out, and now she had that hairstyle where you pull just your bangs back into a cute little ponytail the hung loosely in the back. The rest of her hair hung to her mid-back in a sort of waterfall cut.

Their friend Temari**(A/N: I needed a third girl, shut up) **was the most belligerent of the three, and she looked it, too. She had hard green eyes, a smirk that made boys want too protect their, uh… precious heirlooms, let's say, and dusty blond hair which she always kept in a loose ponytail, which still allowed her hair to fall to her back, just a few inches shorter than Sakura's. She was one of the few girls in the school's wrestling team, and was great at crafts, though she always made sculptures of weasels and fans and scythes… weird… Anyway, she didn't really have a crush on anyone, but she was slightly intrigued by a certain other boy who seemed too stuck up to do much of anything. Her grades were right between Sakura's and Ino's, with a grade point average of 3.75, and she often picked fights with Ino and Sakura just for the hell of arguing, but the three never held grudges, and were closer than red on bricks. No, not that way, you sick perverts!!! I mean they were really good friends!

I give up.

Next were the not-so popular girls, Tenten and me.

Tenten was a sweet, but slightly short-tempered girl with short brown hair that was always kept in two little dancer's knots on the top of her head. She was a tomboy, and never wore makeup or perfume except on special occasions. Her outfit was normally a pair of denim capris and a pink tanktop with a goldenrod dragon on the back and a little goldenrod dragon head on the left breast of the shirt. AND DAMMIT GET YOUR MINDS OUTTA THE GUTTER, PERVS!!!! A-hem… Tenten had a crush on a certain long-haired boy who we won't name just yet, which is why she was my enemy because I also happened to like that guy, too. She enjoyed archery and literature, but she seemed to have a lot of trouble with science, for some strange reason…

You'll have to figure out what I'm like for yourself. Hey, Unari how'd you get in- Why do you have a frying pan?

WHAM

This is Unari speaking. I have momentarily taken over as narrator so that you don't have to "figure out what she's like yourselves".

Katsuko was a hotheaded girl with dazzling bright-blood-red hair (as opposed to one of the boys' dusty-red hair) and piercing emerald eyes. She was usually very hyper, and loved to get into fights. She was considered one of the guys because she didn't like to hang out with the girls, something about not wanting to come off as a prissy-girly-girl. Her usual attire is a pair of blue jeans with the right knee of the pants torn from one seam to the other (in other words, the front of her jeans knees s completely torn open), a black Linkin Park shirt which proclaims her fangirl obsession over the band (although sometimes she wears a white tanktop which is very form-fitting), and three earrings: two silver or gold hoops, depending on the occasion, and one diamond, ruby, amethyst, or sapphire stud, this depending on her mood upon waking up. She wears a pair of running shoes which were probably white at some point, now there's so much dirt, dried mud, and water stains on them that it's hard to tell what the original color was. Even the laces have taken on a nice dirty-tan color… Hm? Ah, Katsuko, you're awake again. Good, I've just finished… Now, now, let's be civil here…

**I'll friggin' murder you!!!!**

No, wait, I can-

_We're experiencing some technical difficulties, here. Be back in a flash!_

Hey, it's Katsuko again! I had to, uhm… beat the snot out of a certain black-haired meanie who decided to be funny and knock me out with a cast-iron frying pan.

Anyway…

Finally, there were the lower-than-low girls, the ones who either chose to be loners or were simply too shy to even be noticed by anyone.

First was Hinata Hyuuga, who was the cousin of a certain long-haired boy that I happened to like. She had almost iridescent black hair that was kept down all the time. It reached her id-back, like Sakura's, but her hair was evenly cut and her bangs were much shorter, which gave her the appearance of, well… a wallflower… which she was. That's right, ladies and gents, Hinata Hyuuga, cousin of one of the most annoying jerks in school (whom I liked), was shyer and quieter than a late-blooming summer daisy. So it surprised everyone that her crush was the loudest, wildest, and most flamboyant boy in the school, who shall be named later. She usually wore a purple sweater and kinda baggy light blue jeans with snow-white tennis shoes. Her ears weren't pierced, and she didn't wear any jewelry, but she wore some makeup, which consisted of cover-up and a modest blush. On rare occasions she wore some mascara, but she usually saved the mascara for plays and dances. She had an awesome singing voice, too.

Unari Sabishii was the one who chose to be alone. She didn't like fitting in, said only spineless sheep should follow the crowd. Coincidentally, she was also an emo, and also had a crush on a certain long-haired boy that I LIKED FIRST. She had short black hair, kept in kind of a mop cut (you know, uneven ends, kinda spiky, with bangs that are hard to keep out of your face), with an oval-shaped white and ice-blue bead in her bangs. The bead is mostly just a fashion statement, but I guess it keeps most of her hair out of her face, too. She's got this pale skin, like peachy-ivory, and flawless beauty. She never wears makeup or perfume, and she's writing these poems. I've seen a few; I was surprised to find that the ones I stole, er, borrowed, from her weren't actually all that emo. They were actually mushy love poems. Which steamed me because I found out she doesn't JUST like Ne- I mean, my crush. It seems she also likes Sakura's crush and Temari's younger brother. She's got a crush on three guys. She'll go places, baby. And yes, feel free to speculate just how perverted I meant that to be.

That's all the girls you need to know about. To sum it up,

Popular:

Sakura, Ino, Temari. Friends of: each other.

In-Between:

Tenten and me. Friends of: Tenten's friends with Hinata. I hang with the guys.

Low Rank:

Hinata and Unari. Friends of: Hinata's friends with everyone because she's so sweet she'll even be nice to jerks. Unari is your typical shun-the-world emo, if that gives you any idea.

And now for the guys.

First off is the popular guys, who always have hordes of fangirls chasing them down and/or worshipping them.

Sasuke Uchiha was the emo king of the group. He was always wearing a black shirt with his family emblem on the back and baggy black jeans that dragged the ground when he walked. His hair reminded me of a duck's butt, only I've never seen an iridescent-black duck that hasn't gotten stuck in tar. Maybe that's how he styled it? Anyway, he had these pitch-black eyes and light skin like Unari's, and he always had his friggin' hands in his pockets. He wore either black or navy-blue converses, and he had this superiority complex and a smirk that made girls melt. Or faint, in Unari's case. He didn't say much, but when he did, his voice was like liquid copper, smooth but with an edge that made it unique.

Neji Hyuuga was the other popular guy, with lush, long brown hair that was always down. He had deep, thoughtful lavender eyes and light peach skin. He always wore a plain tan T-shirt with baggy brown pants that were the same brand as Sasuke's (I could tell by the cut). He wore brown converses and a small silver chain around his neck. He was into debate and wrestling, and like Sasuke never had anything lower than an A in terms of grades. He had that badboy smirk that made girls wanna glomp him. I was one of the few who had enough restraint not to. You can ask Unari if you don't believe me.

_She's only tackled him twice. That's the fewest tackles Neji's ever gotten from one fangirl._

Yes, well… shut up!

Next are the boys who were in between, the ones who were just going along taking all the lumps of life.

Naruto Uzumaki, the object of Hinata's monster crush, was the loudest, wildest, and most flamboyant boy in school. He was always pulling pranks on the teachers, and was rebellious to the extreme. He wore baggy blue jeans which were scored with about a dozen or so slash marks, which he earned when he pranked me and got kicked out the second-floor window. He also wears a white shirt underneath a black denim vest with a red swirl on the back. His shoes are orange converses with black shoe laces **(A/N: What? Converses kick a--!)**, and he wore a green gem thing on a black cord around his neck. He had a diamond stud in one ear, and before the Freshmen school year for our class had ended, he'd told several people that over the summer he was going to pierce his tongue. He had a crush on Sakura, and I was constantly trying to set him up with Hinata (What? She was my best friend aside from Naruto and some of the other boys).

Shikamaru was the laziest boy in school, sleeping through all his classes and yet somehow still managing to get straight A's. Everything he did and said was done and said in a way that suggested that he wasn't really as awake as he looked, which was a little worrying because he normally looked like he was half-asleep to begin with. He had silver stud earrings and wore baggy black jeans, black tennis shoes, and a white t-shirt with a little cartoon deer on the front bottom-left corner. He also wore a silver chain around his neck, but his necklace had a little deer head on it. His hair was dark, dark brown, and was always kept in a high ponytail almost on top of his head. He wasn't really that interested in finding his perfect match, but his favorite pastime was, uhm… well, snoozing. Although he was captain of the Shogi Team, an impressive feat as the previous Shogi captain had been a Senior who'd played Shogi since he was four.

His friend, Chouji Akimichi, was that largest kid in our class, at 5 feet tall and three feet wide. He had spiky auburn hair and wore a red t-shirt and black pants. Despite all the kids making fun of him, Chouji was actually a really nice person. He was also sensitive about three things: his friends, food, and his weight, not in that order. Last year he placed first in the school's hotdog eating competition, and second in the soda drinking competition. He placed second because it was right after the hotdog competition.

Kiba Inuzuka always brought his dog to school, and because of that had many animal-loving friends (including yours truly). He had red fang-shaped tattoos on either cheek (face, not butt, you perverted fangirls), spiky brown hair, tan skin, and a smile that girls adored and guys wanted to punch off his face. White and red-striped tennis shoes, baggy grey jeans, a white shirt with two black stripes on each sleeve, and sharp fingernails were his outstanding features. His dog, Akamaru, was about the size of a toy poodle, and rode on his head most of the time. Akamaru was pure white except for his ears, which were a pretty chocolate brown color.

Then of course there was the loner, the guy who flew under the radar and never really got the spotlight much. This guy had a deadly aura about him, the kind of aura that made you fear for your life and fall in love at the same time. He could have his pick of the ladies, and he never once spoke more than a few words at a time.

This was, of course, Gaara, a boy with icy blue eyes and dusty red hair. His skin was pale, and he had no eyebrows, only very thick rings around his eyes. It wasn't eyeliner; last year a very brave fool splashed Gaara in the face with a water balloon, but the black rings around his eyes didn't fade or run at all. And of course the foolish person with good aim ended up in intensive care for about a month or two. Gaara wears a black shirt with a think band of white around the collar, black pants, and black shoes, and has many different silver chains around his neck, each a different length. He wears one silver hoop and one ruby stud in each ear, and has the symbol for love tattooed in blood-red ink on his forehead. His black shirt has a low v-neck, so under it he wears a fishnet shirt. Don't tell anyone, but for some reason I really want to get to know him more…

Let's review:

Popular:

Neji-kun and Sasuke. Friends of: Uhm… their mirrors???

Middles:

Naruto, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba. Friends of: various people…

Mysterious:

Gaara. Friend of: no idea…

* * *

**So, how was it? Hope you enjoy the story, and **_**PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS/IDEAS/WHATEVER IN YOUR REVIEWS!!!**_

**Cheesy pickup line: Do you have a mirror in your pants? Cuz I see myself in them!**


	2. Last Day of Freshmen Summer

**Disclaimer: I have never owned Naruto. If I owned Naruto, I would be a character in it, stuck in a love pentagon with Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara, and Neji, and would be doing naughty things with all of them.**

* * *

Chapter Two- The Last Day of Freshmen Summer

Katsuko sat at her desk, trying to read the last five chapters of her story before hitting the sack for an early-morning nap (she had stayed up all night reading scary stories and hiding from ghosts with a flashlight on). It was an interesting book, something that Katsuko found quite difficult to find. It took a special mix of elements to catch her attention, but when she found it, she could read for hours without stopping to rest her eyes. It had taken her a mere two days to read this particular book, which had over 700 pages of 11-point typed words.

Somebody knocked at her door. She didn't hear it.

They knocked harder, for a longer time. She didn't flinch.

Now they were kicking and punching her door repeatedly, making what almost sounded like the drum solo for a song.

_It's way too friggin' hard to concentrate! _she thought grumpily, reluctantly placing the bookmark in it's place, _And it was just getting exciting, too! Ooh, if I get my hands on the person making all that noise, I'll…! _Without finishing her threat, she slammed the book shut and stomped over to her door. Gripping the handle mercilessly, she threw the door open and yelled, "What the heck! People are trying to _read, _here!"

On the receiving end of her enraged scream was a terrified Naruto hiding behind an equally petrified Kiba and Akamaru. "Meep," Naruto said in a squeaky voice. _Is that Medusa or Katsuko? _Kiba wondered, still too terrified to move. Akamaru whimpered slightly, which we're going to assume is doggie speak for, "Katsuko's scary when she's angry."

"Oh, sorry," Katsuko said, now looking very sheepish, "It's you guys. Waddaya want?"

Naruto answered first, jumping out from behind Kiba and yelling triumphantly, "We wanted to see if you could come over to Shikamaru's place for a swim party!"

Now, any other girl would've asked if other girls would be there, too. But Katsuko, ever a tomboy, figured it would make her sound too girly to ask such a thing, and besides, she was one of the guys. What did it matter if she wasn't _physically _a guy? "Would I ever! When's it starting?"

Kiba and Naruto exchanged grins and chorused, "It starts in fifteen minutes! Better hurry up, Kats!" She would've blushed if she'd been anyone else. Kats was her nickname because it was the first syllable of her name, and because she conveniently like cats. She grinned and said, "Hang on; you're about to witness my record-time in getting ready for something!"

She slammed the door shut; outside yelps and rustles could be heard as she fought her clothes and long tangled hair. Shouts of "_Stupid f---ing hairbrush broke again!!!_" could also be heard before the door was once again torn open forty-five seconds later, revealing a dressed, hair-brushed, and somehow teeth-brushed Katsuko, grinning like she'd won first place in track and field.

As usual, her hair was untouched and hung loosely around her shoulders. She wore her white tanktop with a pair of denim shorts that went to the tops of her knees… wait, huh?

"K-Kats, you're… you're wearing…" Naruto stammered, pointing at her shorts. "You're actually showing off your legs!" Kiba shouted, and hey wait, was his face turning pink? Nope, gotcha! Or did I…?

"Got a problem with it?" Katsuko asked, throwing her hip to one side and imitating Temari's smirk. "Not at all!" Kiba and Naruto chorused, for different reasons, of course. "Good. Let's go, then!" she yelled happily, grabbing both boys by the hands and taking off downstairs. Without stopping for breakfast, Katsuko, followed by Naruto and Kiba (who'd somehow gotten away from Katsuko's iron grip of doom), charged out the front door, with Katsuko yelling over her shoulder, "Bye Dad! I'm gonna go to Shikamaru's house! Be back soon!"

"Okay, bye- Wait, you're going _WHERE?!_" her dad yelled, chasing after them. "Cheese it!" Katsuko yelled, knowing if they were caught she'd be locked in her room all day while Naruto and Kiba would have to be scrapped off the walls with a spatula after her dad was done "having a word with them". She didn't want to think about what he would do to Akamaru. Her father was very protective over his tomboy daughter. You would be, too, if your child had already broken all of her arms and legs at least twice before sixteen years had passed.

**§§§§§§**

Meanwhile, at Shikamaru's house, the only guests to attend so far were Chouji and (luckily for Katsuko) Neji. Unluckily for Katsuko, Tenten (yes, he invited everyone important, plus some new faces) had also arrived, and was currently making eyes at Neji, who was either ignoring her or didn't notice her.

High-pitched giggles could be heard as Sakura, Ino, and Temari entered Shikamaru's backyard, wearing skimpy two-piece bathing suits and oversized sunglasses. Behind them came Kiba and Naruto, who both had a hand clamped over Katsuko's mouth to prevent her from mouthing off at the popular girls in front of her. Kiba was rolling his eyes and Naruto kept yelping something along the lines of, "Stop biting my hand, Kats!" It was well-known that Katsuko despised the popular girls with a passion, even if she was usually more controlled about it.

As Katsuko and her two, erm, muzzles, walked over to Shikamaru's table, Sakura's voice suddenly chorused, "Aw, Katsuko has two boyfriends! That's so cute!"

Katsuko's face turned a deep shade of red as her eyes set on fire and lightning randomly cracked in the distance. Naruto and Kiba looked at each other and then looked at Shikamaru. "We're doomed," they chorused.

Katsuko lunged for the pink haired popular girl, restrained by Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru (who was biting her ankle), Tenten, and Neji. Even with all the people holding her, Katsuko fought and screamed a long stream of profanities that, while very impressive, would probably change the story's rating to an M. Another random bolt of lightning struck some random place, followed by a faint, "Ow! What the hell?"

"_Come over here and say that to my face, you little bi-!" _Katsuko screamed, cut off just in time by Kiba, who clamped his hand firmly on her mouth and hissed, "Kats, shut up already before they murder y- _OW!_" Katsuko bit into his hand and screamed, "I'd like to see them try to hurt… Hey, is that root beer?" Her attention was suddenly drawn to a root beer, unopened and held in front of her face by Unari, who had arrived unseen during the commotion. "You can have it if you stop trying to kill the popular girls," she said, looking extremely cool even though she was standing in front of the only girl who could pitch a person of Chouji's weight about fifty meters.

Katsuko nodded vigorously and said, "Okay! Rootbeerrootbeerrootbeer!" Everyone let go of her and sighed in relief as she went for the soda. Unari held it over her head and said, "Sit." Katsuko crouched like a puppy begging for scraps.

"Roll over."

She rolled onto her back.

"Up."

She stood up.

"Good girl." And Unari handed the soda over to a puppy-eyed Katsuko, who took it and drank half of it in one shot.

"Is it really a good idea to give her _more _sugar?" Neji asked, eyeing Katsuko warily as she started talking to Naruto. She looked like she was plotting something with him. And worse yet, it looked like whatever they were planning sounded really fun to Naruto. "Don't worry," Unari said icily, "I know how to deal with hyper people like Katsuko."

"I'll take your word for it," Neji answered, caught a little off guard by the sudden change in Unari's attitude.

Suddenly, someone screamed, _"Cannon Ball no Jutsu!!!"_

There was a tsunami-sized splash as said person's cannonball landed squarely in the pool. Shrieks rose from Sakura, Ino, and Temari as most of the water landed on their sunbathing spot near the edge of the pool. Furious, they began pitching anything that wasn't theirs at Katsuko, who was frantically dodging sunglasses, towels, shoes, an iPod (courtesy of Shikamaru), suntan lotion, water bottles, and empty soda cans as she swam like a madman for the edge of the pool.

Finally, she dragged herself from the pool and dodged behind Chouji (who was randomly part of her plan), just in time to avoid the last projectiles to be pitched at her. Meanwhile, Naruto jumped out in front of Chouji, shaking two soda cans. What happened next was chaos.

Three things happened at once:

Ino, Temari, and Sakura charged for Katsuko, who was still huddled behind Chouji, who was standing behind Naruto.

Naruto threw both cans to the ground.

And Gaara, who'd been sitting outside the gate to the backyard to avoid the crowd, decided to come and see what was causing all the commotion.

For Katsuko, time and sound stopped only long enough to see Gaara's first two steps into the backyard.

_SPLAK! CRAK! FOOOOOSH!_

The cans exploded, releasing a miniature tidal wave on Ino, Sakura, Temari, Naruto, Chouji, Neji, Unari, Kiba, and… gulp… and mostly on Gaara.

More shrieks rose from the popular girls, who had tackled Naruto and were attempting to either strangle him or bash his head into the pavement repeatedly.

Then everything went silent as they realized that Gaara had been sprayed the most. Suddenly Katsuko didn't think her "party prank" had been so funny, after all.

* * *

**A/N: Bahahahaha!!! Cliffie!!!! Ph33r M3h!!! You don't have to comment, but the more comments I get, the faster I'll upload!**

**Random Question: What's the difference between a carnation and a rose??? Answer and you get a treat!**


	3. Last Day of Freshmen Summer II

**Disclaimer: Do I seriously seem like someone smart enough to come up with characters and plotlines as complex as the ones in Naruto? If you said yes, thank you. If you said no… sigh… you're right. I own nothing. I'm going to go sit in my emo corner…**

* * *

Chapter Three – Oh Shit… It's Still the Last Day of Summer…

An eerie silence echoed throughout the backyard as Gaara finally growled, "Who's the genius that came up with that?" **(A/N: Remember, Gaara's the guy with the evil aura of doom and death surrounding him)**

A girl with bright red hair stood up, whom he instantly recognized as Katsuko. For once she actually looked sheepish as she walked towards him, keeping her head down like she was embarrassed. When she was three feet away, she raised her eyes to peek at him through her bangs and said, "Sorry, Gaara. The whole thing was my planning. I didn't expect you to come in before the soda…" Her voice trailed off, as she looked back to the ground, anticipating something like what happened after the water balloon incident last year to happen to her, too.

Gaara shot her a glare that was capable of melting rocks and freezing lava before going over to his beach bag to retrieve a towel to dry off with. Katsuko took the chance to slide back behind Chouji, who promptly pushed her away while yelling frantically, "Hey, d-don't hide behind me! He'll murder me to get to you!" "Some friend you are!" Katsuko yelled, sticking her tongue out, "I thought buddies put their necks on the line for each other!"

"If you can find Chouji's neck, I'll be amazed," Naruto grumbled, drying off with the many napkins that had randomly appeared on the table with the pizzas. _"WHAT?!" _Chouji roared. "YOU HEARD ME, FATTY!" "Naruto, that word's ta– " _"Food Fight!"_

Unari, sensing the oncoming chaos, grabbed the nearest person who wasn't holding food and dragged him under the nearest table, just as the food started flying. "Ow," Neji grumbled as he hit the pavement, "Thanks, I guess." "Yah," Unari said offhandedly, "whatever."

Katsuko, meanwhile, was throwing slices of cheese pizza at anyone within five feet of her. So far Naruto and Kiba were cheesed beyond recognition. Ino and Sakura were hiding somewhere, while Temari was pitching glasses of punch at everyone. Shikamaru was doing what looked like a really cool dance as he tried to avoid the flying food and raining punch. Chouji was eating the food thrown at him and throwing basket-ball shaped mounds of food at random people. Akamaru was stuck to the pavement, glued there by sticky cheese from the pizzas. Gaara had disappeared. Tenten was cowering in the pool. And of course Unari and Neji were hiding under a table, waiting the chaos out.

After about fifteen minutes of food fighting, they ran out of ammo, and were now faced with the task of cleaning up Storm Zone A, aka Shikamaru's barely recognizable backyard. It looked like a hurricane had ripped through it. Pizza and chips floated or sank to the bottom of the pool. The pavement was littered with cups, popped balloons, pizzas, chips, and crumbled pieces of brownies. Trees were covered in cheese and more cups. Balloon ribbons hung off lamps, chairs, and Naruto's hair. And the only people who came out clean were Ino, Sakura, Unari, Neji, and Gaara. Though her attempt to hide was wise, Tenten had managed to get pizza cheese stuck in her hair, and her face was splattered with sauce. Shikamaru looked devastated as he surveyed his poor back yard. "Aw, jeez, my dad's gonna kill me," he said, sounding like he was actually awake for once.

He looked at the others expectantly. "Uhm," Katsuko said, "I have to be home by, uh… now…" She dashed out of the yard. "Me'n Kiba have to, uhm, make sure she doesn't get mugged," Naruto said, grabbing Kiba and Akamaru and running after her.

"We're leaving," Temari said as she, Ino, and Sakura left the yard. "I'm not cleaning anything," Unari said, sauntering off. "Neither am I," Neji said, walking after her. Gaara glared again before he, too, left. Tenten looked at Shikamaru apologetically, gathered her things, and walked away.

"Chouji?" Shikamaru's friend sighed and said, "Where're the rags?"

**§§§§§§**

Katsuko, Tenten, Hinata, and Unari (dragged against her will by Katsuko) gathered at Tenten's house for a sleepover, sat in a circle for a game of Truth or Dare. Katsuko finished the bottle of soda she was drinking and placed it in the center of the circle, spinning it to see who her first victim would be.

It landed on Tenten. Groaning could be heard from Unari.

"Tenten-chan. Truth or dare?"

_I don't want to have to admit something embarrassing, _Tenten thought as she said, "Dare."

Katsuko grinned evilly and said, "I dare you to tackle Neji-kun tomorrow."

"W-what? She can't do that! C-can she? Unari-chan?" Tenten looked at Unari hopefully. "Rules are rules, Tenten," Unari said, "You can't make rules after the game starts. You have to tackle him tomorrow." Tenten bowed her head and sighed, "Hai."

She took the bottle and spun it; it landed on Unari, who immediately said, "Truth." "Is it true that you like three different guys, Unari-chan?" Unari's eyes widened as she said, "N-nani?! H-how did… How'd you find out about…?" "So it's a yes?" "…Hai…" Katsuko jumped up, pointed at Tenten, and said, "Ha! _Told _you!" Awkward silence. "Oops."

The rest of the night was spent trying to keep Unari from murdering Katsuko via cast iron frying pan.

**§§§§§§**

Meanwhile, and the school, three people-shaped shadows and a little furball snuck quietly into the school, having gotten the keys from the janitor after giving him an Icha-Icha Paradise book. One people shadow carried paintbrushes, and the other two had cans of paint. Quietly, all four shadows snuck into the school and got to work with their evil plans…

Well, maybe not _too_quietly.

"Ow! Kiba, you stepped on my foot!" "Naruto, watch where you point that brush!" "Huh?" "Ack! You painted on me!" "Oops, sorry." "Arf!" "Akamaru, keep it down!" "Ruff." "Huh?" _"Ruff."_"What do you mean, 'we're busted'?"

The lights flicked on as Principal Tsunade walked in. Kiba, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Akamaru looked at her, frozen. She looked at them and slurred, "What're ya doin'?" "She's drunk!" Naruto hissed, "Trick her!" "Er," Kiba said, "We're helping refinish the walls?" She looked at him for a second, then said, "Yeh, whatev'r. I'm goin' to my office…" And she walked off, leaving the pranksters to continue their evil plans.

**§§§§§§**

Katsuko couldn't sleep. So, after everyone had gone to sleep (and after her head stopped throbbing from the frying pan), she'd gone to sit on Tenten's roof and stare at the stars, trying to find the different constellations. But she couldn't concentrate on that, so she decided to just stare into space and continue worrying about tomorrow.

_Chyaaa, I'm not ready to be a Junior! I hate school! __**Yah, but Neji will be there, too. **__Doesn't make things better! Ooh, I'm not sure he even notices me half the time! __**Well, he definitely noticed you today. **__Oh, joy._

She sighed and rested her head on her knees, staring aimlessly at whatever caught her attention. A sudden meow brought her attention to a little black kitten with big gold eyes, staring up at her like it thought she was its mommy. It couldn't have been more than a month old, yet it looked as though it was on its own. It was skinny, like it hadn't eaten for a few days. A wave of pity flashed over Katsuko, and she gently picked it up and wrapped it in her blanket before jumping off of the roof with a grunt. Her ankles, used to this sort of action, absorbed the shock with little trouble or pain, and she rose and went inside after only a second's pause.

Having taken care of kittens before, Katsuko instinctively went to her backpack and pulled out a powdered milk formula, the kind babies drink (she had been babysitting her baby cousin Erica the day before). It was difficult to hold a kitten while preparing baby formula, but she managed, and soon she was back in her sleeping bag, bottle feeding the little black mound of fur until it dozed off. _What to name it? _Katsuko wondered, automatically assuming it was a feral kitten since no one on Tenten's street owned a cat, much less a queen with kits. A polite peek under its tail told her the kitten was male, which made the naming easier. _Star? __**Nah.**__ Coal? __**Uh-uh.**__ Ash? __**Hell no.**__ Uhm… Midnight! __**Perfect!**_

"Midnight," she whispered softly, lying next to the kitten with her arm curled protectively around him, "That's such a–" she was caught off by a yawn, and fell asleep before she could finish her sentence. Midnight shifted in his sleep and purred softly as Katsuko's breath landed on his ears.

* * *

**A/N: Awww! So cute! Next chapter is full of first day of school chaos, so be on the lookout, okay?**

**Trivia: Midnight's breed is Bombay.**


	4. First Day of School

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I have, however, kidnapped Deidara and am holding him hostage in my basement. Cha.**

* * *

Chapter Four- Oh Shit… It's the First Day of School…

The next morning at Tenten's house was strange. When Tenten, Hinata, and Unari woke, Katsuko had left, leaving a note saying she wanted to get to school early today. They shrugged it off and got ready for school, Hinata and Unari packing their things and Tenten brushing her hair and teeth at the same time **(A/N: Let's hear it for multi-tasking!)**.

**§§§§§§**

Meanwhile, Katsuko, Dressed in her usual attire, wearing her silver hoops and ruby stud, walked to school, holding Midnight like a baby. It wasn't against the rules to bring animals to school (how did you think Kiba got away with it?), just as long as they didn't cause a disturbance. But little Midnight was so laid back that she was sure he would be an angel. "Besides, you're a kitten. No one can resist kittens, right, Midoru-kun?" **(A/N: Midoru is Japanese for "middle" or "center", and since midnight is the middle of the night, it seemed like a good nickname)**

The little black furball looked up at her with big, innocent yellow eyes and made a sugary-sweet meow that could probably even melt Gaara's heart. "Right," Katsuko giggled, rubbing her cheek against Midnight's fur, "You're too innocent to cause any trouble!" Yes, sadly, Katsuko the tomboy was a sucker for Bambi Eyes and an innocent face.**(A/N: Good thing she isn't interested in law enforcement, ne?)**Luckily for her, Midnight was clingy and probably wouldn't stray too far from her, maybe a foot away before starting to mewl like a starving kitten. And that's if Katsuko didn't pull him closer every time he was three centimeters away.

The school wouldn't open its gates for another thirty minutes, but there was already a group of kids, mostly Seniors and Juniors, with a few kids from the Freshmen class, climbing over the chain link fence and waltzing into the building. Katsuko winced; how was she going to climb over the fence with Midoru-kun? She didn't want to stand outside, but she couldn't climb while she was holding him. She considered putting him in her book bag, but the thought of him falling out at the top of the fence made her decide against it. He could fit through the fence, but what if someone (god forbid it be her) landed on him? She shuddered at the thought.

Just as she was about to give up, she spotted a familiar face walking up. _Oh, great, Emo King… __**Dude, ask him to hold Midnight while you go over the fence! **__He'll laugh at me! __**Naruto laughs at you all the time! What's the deal? **__Sasuke's laugh is really freaky sounding! __**So he sounds like a psychotic murderer when he laughs. So what? **__…I'll pretend that didn't sound as retarded as it did._

"Sasuke!" Katsuko said, catching up before he climbed over the fence and forcing herself not to add –teme to the end of his name, "Can you do me a favor? Hold Midnight for me so I can get over the fence? Please?" She bit the last word out, trying to make it sound natural. He gave her a look that told her it sounded anything _but _natural and said, "And how am I supposed to hand him back to you? Toss him over the fence?" Katsuko cringed at the thought.

"Meow?"

They both looked down at the little black furball as he gave Sasuke "The Look". It worked. "Fine," Sasuke said begrudgingly as Katsuko gently handed him Midnight, "But you owe me."

"Meow." _Bap. Bap. Bat._

"Tell your cat to get his paw off of my nose." _Bap._

"Not unless you promise _not _to make me owe anything." _Bat. Bap, bap._

"Fine." _Lick._"Ew."

Katsuko grinned and climbed quickly up the fence, hopping down to the other side when she'd gotten to the top. "Midnight should be small enough to pass through the fence," she said, giving Sasuke a look that plainly said that if he so much as tried throwing Midnight he would die very slowly and painfully. He nodded and gently passed the little furball through the fence, holding Midnight by the scruff of the neck and pushing him through with his free hand. Katsuko took Midnight as soon as his front paws were through and kissed his head before smiling (sort of) at Sasuke and saying, "Thanks, Sasuke-teme." She walked off, ignoring Sasuke completely now that he'd helped get Midnight on the school side of the fence.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and climbed the fence, not quite as nimbly as Katsuko, and not quite as hastily, taking his time and jumping only when he was sure he wouldn't shatter both of his ankles. He'd seen Katsuko stumble slightly when she'd landed, and looked for dips or rises in the grass below before releasing his hold on the fence.

Katsuko and Midnight got mixed reactions from those that saw them. Girls thought Midnight was adorable. At first some of the guys thought he was a fuzzy tennis ball, though luckily they didn't touch him as Katsuko gave them a "The Look" of her own, this one causing lightning to randomly crash again. The superstitious people thought he was bad luck, causing one girl to faint and blame it on Midnight when she came to. This particular girl, a Freshman, earned a hard kick in the shin from Katsuko when she woke and a threat of doom to stop her blaming Midnight for bad luck again. She promptly made herself scarce.

There was a commotion at the front door; Katsuko could see a bunch of kids inside laughing and pointing at something. "What's going on?" a familiar voice asked, breathing down her neck. Katsuko jumped and whirled, momentarily forgetting Midnight as she faced… Sasuke, who wasn't standing more than two feet away like he usually did around her. Now he was standing, amazingly, ten inches away from her. Of his own free will. Katsuko knew then that Armageddon had come.

"Don't know," she said, rubbing her cheek on Midoru-kun's fur again, "Let's check it out. Separately," she added, glaring at him. "You startled me." He shrugged and said, "After you." She narrowed her eyes and resisted the urge to bare her teeth at him before walking into the building. Too much time around cats had caused her to pick up some of their habits, such as growling like a jungle cat when she was angry, sitting balanced on her toes and holding her hands up slightly, like a cat ready to pounce, and sleeping with her fingers curled, giving her hands a paw-like appearance. She was also infamous for her cat face, accented by a meow when the face alone didn't get her what she was after.

As soon as she entered, Katsuko knew who had caused the commotion. Kiba and Naruto were grinning like fools, Shikamaru was rolling his eyes, and Akamaru was dancing around, appearing to act innocently amused with everything. On the wall, in brilliant colors, was a giant mural of Principal Tsunade with devil horns, evil-looking red eyes with no pupils, and breathing fire on random chibi students, with a speech bubble that said, "I am Granny Tsunade! Hear me R04R!!!" Katsuko rolled her eyes and chuckled. Trust Naruto and Kiba to do something like that on the first day of school. How they got the lazy-ass in on it was a mystery.

"You've got to be kidding me." Sasuke said, deliberately standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Katsuko to freak her out. She glared at him and growled a primal growl. He didn't budge.

_Thud._

"Stop grinding your heel into my foot," Sasuke gritted out. "Stop getting too close to me," Katsuko growled back, removing her foot from Sasuke's. He moved away, standing a foot away from her and giving her a look that said he was staying there. She twitched her upper lip in the beginning of a snarl, wishing she could punch that mocking smirk off his pretty boy face. But of course, she couldn't expose Midnight to that kind of violence; it might scare him. So she looked away, gritting her teeth until she heard them creak. _I hate him. __**No you don't. **__I also hate my inner me. __**No you don't. **__Shut up. __**Never.**_

**§§§§§§**

Ten minutes later, Unari and Hinata showed up, talking about the different reasons why Katsuko would want to be at school early. So far TPing the school, bombing the school, graffitiing the school, burning the school, flooding the school, and breaking every window in the school had all been mentioned. When they walked in the front door, they assumed she had painted the mural, then remembered she was embarrassed about her artwork and was a better artist than the culprits behind the mural.

A meow drew their attention to Katsuko, who was standing a few feet away holding what looked like a giant ball of lint **(A/N: Jeez, I'm mean to Midnight, huh?)**. However, they discovered it was a kitten upon approaching Katsuko. It lifted its head and said, "Mrow?" "Awww!" Hinata squealed, petting the kitten and surprising both Unari and Katsuko, who'd never heard Hinata squeal. The kitten starting purring loudly under Hinata's gentle touch. "What's its name?" Unari asked, casting Katsuko a look that inquired where she found it.

"_He _is named Midnight," Katsuko said, "I found him last night. Couldn't sleep. I went out for a walk and found him." Okay, so she lied a little. She did it a lot, even if it wasn't necessary. Well, not lies, really. More like, she fabricated the stories to make herself seem more adventurous or crazy than she already was.

Katsuko snuck a glance past Hinata and Unari, over to where Sasuke was standing. He was still looking at her, smirking. She narrowed her eyes and turned her attention back to Midnight who had randomly fallen asleep in her arms. "He's so cute," Hinata said softly, not wanting to wake him up. "He's so lazy," Unari muttered, purposefully trying to get a rise out of Katsuko. But for once the redhead didn't respond, too busy cradling her newfound friend to hear the comment.

"This is going to be a long year," Unari muttered, "I can tell."

* * *

**A/N: Chapter Four already! W00t!**

**Looks like things are getting interesting. What's with Sasuke? And why is Midnight so smart when he's just a kitten?**

**Please, if you have ideas or requests, leave them in your reviews. Thank you.**

**Trivia: Katsuko has a soft spot for cats, dogs, and birds.**


	5. First Day of School II

**Disclaimer: Look, if I owned Naruto, people would be nicer to Gaara. Has that happened once in the English anime so far? Very little, and only just now. Which means I don't own Naruto.**

* * *

Chapter Five- First Day of Sophomore Year, Pt. II

Katsuko looked at her schedule wearily. Her first class was literature. Oh joy.

Really, she didn't mind literature at all; she usually ended up liking the books she read for that class. It was really the writing assignments that were assigned to each chapter, and the fact that there were always at least five conversations she overheard about how stupid or uninteresting the book was. _Really, _she thought, _if they don't like to read, or aren't serious about it, why even bother? Makes no sense to take a class and complain about it. __**You complain about math all the time. **__Not around people who enjoy it! __**How do you know? **__I can tell when someone enjoys math. __**How? **__Their eyes don't glaze over. __**Ah.**_

_Bap. _"Mreow."

Katsuko looked down at Midnight and reached for the bottle of milk she was carrying. She hadn't fed him for thirty minutes, and he was a growing kit. Of course he was hungry.

She walked into her class warily, expecting to find a bunch of kids complaining and moaning and snoring. Instead, she found she was early; class wouldn't start for another ten minutes. The only other kid in the room was a boy with black hair that fell loosely around his shoulders. His bangs started out at his chin, then shortened as they got closer to the center line of his head, until they were only long enough to brush the skin just below his piercing grey-blue eyes. His skin was an ivory color, like Unari's, and he was wearing baggy black jeans, Nikes, a dark blue T-shirt, and a long-sleeved white shirt underneath. His ears had no piercings; the only jewelry Katsuko saw was a black chain around his neck, each link probably half the thickness of her little finger.

He was staring out the window at the sky, his eyes the only moving part of his body as he watched a small clutch of birds fly to the east. For a moment Katsuko didn't think he'd noticed her. The notion didn't last long.

"You know, just because class hasn't started, you really shouldn't block the doorway like that."

She started and stumbled over her words a little as she said, "Yah, well, uh… Yah, you're probably right." Poor Katsuko, holding Midnight seemed to make her loose her usual boyish streak. She walked quickly to a seat in the back row and sat down, throwing her bag on the floor and crossing her legs on the desk as she continued bottle feeding Midnight. _He's got an interesting voice, like fire under water… wait, huh? __**You mean it sounds calm, but you can sense the emotions underneath? **__…Something like that…_

Unbeknownst to Katsuko, from across the room the new guy was staring at her, not in a perverted way, just trying to figure out what she was like. He had the idea that you could tell a person's attitude by what they wore, how they styled their hair, what their school supplies looked like, and what they brought into the classroom with them.

_Hyper… Animal lover… Probably doesn't care too much for pink or grey… loud… stubborn… fierce… tomboy… Why does she keep tapping her foot?_

Katsuko felt a set of eyes boring into her back; she flicked her eyes up, but the boy didn't make any eye contact. _Yah-huh. Who's he fooling? __**You?**__Very funny. __**Well, I was fooled, which must mean you were fooled, too. **__You're retarded. __**That makes you retarded. **__Shut up._

"So," Katsuko said lazily, inwardly flinching at the broken silence, "you a new kid or something?" "Hn." _Great. Another Sasuke wanna-be. _"I'm guessing that's a yes. Made any friends yet?" "Hn." "That sounded like a no." "Will you stop putting words in my mouth?" "Start answering with actual words," Katsuko said, though her left arm cringed on its own. Now he sounded mad. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him glaring at her. _Fight time! Booyah! __**What about Midoru-kun? **__Oh, snap! I can't expose little Midnight to violence! __**Crisis averted…**_

_That doesn't mean I can't verbally argue, though. __**Oi…**_

"You seem pissed off," Katsuko said as the boy continued to glare, "What's the matter, I hit a nerve?" "Shut up, cat-person."

Before either of them could react, Midnight somehow managed to jump down, dash into the boy's lap, claw his nose, and dash back to Katsuko's outstretched arms. "Ow! Your stupid cat just clawed my face!" "Midnight isn't stupid!" "You realize you're taking up for a _cat_?" "He's nicer than _you_." "Whatever." Katsuko snarled at him and looked at the clock. _It's only been a minute?! I'm not gonna last that long with just _him _in here! _She cast the boy a disapproving look through slitted eyes before pointedly turning her back to him. _He's no fun to argue with!_

**§§§§§§**

Meanwhile, Unari was having similar troubles, though hers were focused on a girl who thought she liked Gaara.

"Look, Gaara-kun is_mine_, got it?" Yes, you heard right, this was the _only_girl in the _entire _school who wasn't afraid to proclaim her undying admiration for Gaara, the same Gaara with the evil aura of doom and death. "What gave you the idea that I was after him, little girl?" Unari said, suddenly seven feet tall and using her "evil" voice as she loomed over the other girl, who was a year younger than Unari.

"You're an emo, so you _must _be after him!" Yes, ladies and gents, this girl happened to be an airheaded blonde. It shows, ne?

Just then, Gaara randomly walked by. The airhead quickly latched onto his arm and said in a sugary sweet voice, "Gooood morning, Gaara-kun!!!" Gaara looked at her, then at Unari, who shrugged and said, "She's your loudest fangirl, I'm guessing." He looked back at the girl at said, "Please let go of my arm." "Yes, Gaara-kun!" "Please stop calling me that." "Yes, Gaara-san." "Please go away." "But I _love _you, Gaara-san!" "You're creepy, go away." "Yes, sir…" "That was a little harsh, no?" Unari asked as the girl slid away, shoulders slumped and head down. "Well she was." "…Touché." And they walked to class, somewhat side-by-side, without saying another word.

Their first class was Literature.

**§§§§§§**

Back to Katsuko and her, ah… boy troubles, let's say…

Now that Hinata had come in, Katsuko paid the boy little attention, save for an inquiry of his name.

"Oh, th-that's one of the new kids, Aries Tsukiyo. Th-there's word that he's r-really mean." "Yah, go figure," Katsuko said, "He called Midoru-kun a 'stupid cat'!" "No," Hinata whispered, looking appalled as she stroked Midnight's ears. In response, Midnight let out the most heartbreaking meow you've ever heard, as if he was saying, "It's okay, I'll survive… even if the name was really mean… I'll get by…" Who knew a one month old kitten could be so dramatic and smart at the same time? "Ooh, poor Midoru-chan!" Hinata said, rubbing her cheek on Midnight's head. "Mew," Midnight replied.

"Do we even _want_to know?" The girls turned to see Gaara and Unari standing a few feet away, staring at them like they were insane. "The new guy called Midoru-kun stupid!" Katsuko said, giving them a very teary-eyed version of her kitty face. If it worked on either of them, they didn't show it. "To every man his own opinion," Unari said, "Aries can think whatever he wants to think about Midnight." "You know who he is, too, huh?" "If you spent a little time around the girls, maybe you'd hear more information." "Ew. No offence, but the girls are so… _girly_…"

Unari rolled her eyes and sat in the empty seat next to Hinata, followed by Gaara, who sat next to Unari as though it was something he did every day. Katsuko shot Unari a "Wtf?" look, to which Unari responded with an "Idk" look. **(A/N: Lol, chat speak rulz)**

**§§§§§§**

Five minutes later, all of the twenty-three students in this literature class were seated and talking amongst themselves while the teacher, Mr. Hatake, tried to find the book he was supposed to be assigning while simultaneously reading a book of his own, the infamous "Make-Out Tactics". As it turned out, Sasuke, Shikamaru, Neji, and (much to Katsuko's disgust) Sakura, Ino, and Temari had also signed up for Literature, as well as several students that Katsuko knew more by face than by name. The girls mostly swooned over Neji and Sasuke, the guys mostly talked about sports.

Katsuko focused on feeding and petting Midoru-kun, Hinata talked with Katsuko about how adorable Midnight was, Neji and Sasuke were currently barricading themselves in an empty closet in their attempt to hide from their rabid fangirls, the popular girls were busy reading magazines, Shikamaru was, of course, dozing, Unari had unbelievably managed to get Gaara to say more than one sentence (after having found his topic of choice) and was now engaged in a lively conversation with him about the pros and cons of having an evil aura of doom surrounding you, and Aries… well, Aries was scaring people away by wearing the meanest look on his face you've ever seen, while at the same time completely tuned in to every movement and every noise in the room.

He snuck a quick glance over in Katsuko's direction; she was rubbing her cheek on her stupid cat's head again, something she did when she was having trouble reining her emotions in, he was guessing. Except for her loud mouth, she didn't seem too bad, just from the tidbits he picked out of her conversation with Hinata amid the deafening noise of the class. She was just… obstinate, he decided was the best word for it. _Very _obstinate.

"Ah, here they are!" The teacher's laid-back voice said.

"Your first reading assignment will be…" Dramatic pose.

"The Outsiders."

"_BOO YES!!!"_Katsuko screamed, jumping out of seat while still holding onto Midnight.

Crickets chirping.

"Sorry…"

* * *

**A/N: Wow, this chapter was long, ne? If you like or dislike long chapters, well, there'll be a mix of both, sooo… Shut up! Just kidding. I'd never tell my faithful readers to shut up…**

**Recap (not random tidbit, just FYI): Midoru-kun, Midoru-chan, and Midnight are all the same one-month-old Bombay kitten that Katsuko found on the last night before the new school year. Midoru is Japanese for "middle" or "center"; midnight is, obviously, the middle of the night. A good nick name, ne?**

**Trivia (THIS is your chapterly random tidbit): Kun is the Japanese word for master. It is more commonly used (at least by Americans lol) as a suffix for familiar male characters. Chan can mean asphalt or bitumen, as well as serve as a suffix for familiar female characters.**


	6. First Day of School III

**Disclaimer: Deidara got away, so now I've got Itachi tied up in my basement. Bwahaha… Damn… he got out… Stupid weasel…**

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"'The Outsiders?' What kinda title is _that_?"

Katsuko gritted her teeth as her classmates began to groan and complain about the book. She'd read books by this author, S. E. Hinton. Her book, "That Was Then, This Is Now", was one of Katsuko's favorites, and had taken her forever to read not because it was long, but because she loved the book so much that she tried to live and savor each moment, each word on the page like a gift from an unknown friend. She understood the characters, and the story made sense. So as her classmates continued complaining, her fury continued rising, finally reaching a point where she couldn't stay silent.

"Will you guys friggin' _shut up?_" she hissed, shooting each complainer a glare to blow up volcanoes, "You haven't even read the back cover yet! Jeez! Bunch of babies…"

Silence.

Katsuko ignored the looks she got as Kakashi placed her copy on her desk, giving her an approving smile as he passed. **(A/N: That's right, in my story, Kakashi's mask is nonexistent!) **Hinata, though not the type to like violence too well, nonetheless looked excited as she read the first three pages of the story. _**Victory! **_Inner Katsuko yelled, doing the victory sign as she did so.

The bell rang. Time for the next period. The students, grumbling in much quieter voices to avoid Katsuko's fury, packed up their things and slowly headed out the door. Katsuko signaled for Unari and Hinata to go on ahead, since she knew they were in her next class, too.

**§§§§§§**

Needless to say, Katsuko was too busy taking care of Midoru-kun to pay attention to her Algebra II class, which seemed to fly by since she wasn't paying attention.

Next was morning break, fifteen minutes to get ready for Third Period.

"I'm surprised Ebisu didn't notice your lack of attention," Unari commented offhandedly. "I'm surprised you like Algebra II," Katsuko shot back. She was still upset by the incident in Literature. Those who'd been in the room complaining had all brushed her arm on purpose and grumbled, "Bookworm," to which she had smiled and said thank you.

"Relax," Unari sighed, "Has Tenten followed through with that dare?" "I haven't seen her since last night," Katsuko said, "She better not chicken out."

Just then, they heard a certain Hyuuga scream, _"Agh! Tenten, GET OFF!!!" _"Got the camera," Unari said. "Goal."

**§§§§§§**

After the incident, Tenten was sent to the Principal's Office (capitalized because everyone feared that particular room), while Neji suffered minor scraps on his knees and some bruises from the stampede of fangirls that Tenten's football tackle had summoned. Katsuko had pictures, and Unari's video of the event was destined for YouTube. A good break all around.

Next was Biology, which Katsuko actually seemed to like, from where Sasuke was sitting, next to her of course. Katsuko, while pointedly sitting with her back to him, couldn't help but sketch a little chibi picture of Sasuke giving the bird to whoever looked at the drawing. Next to him she drew a speech bubble with the words, "I can come as close as I want because I'm the school's number one bastard heartthrob." It was meant as a cut, but she knew if it ever was shown to anyone else, rumors about her and Sasuke being an "item" would spread through every class by morning. She quickly closed her sketchbook and refocused her attention on the class.

Mr. Umino **(A/N: Umino is Iruka's last name, just in case you didn't know) **was wrapping up his lecture. It was time for Fourth Period. Art, in Katsuko's case.

Much to her surprise (and dismay), Aries, the black-maned boy who'd pissed her off during Literature, had also signed up for Art, as well as Hinata, Sakura, Unari, Naruto (of course), and Neji.

Today's Art assignment was free art. Paints, pencils, paper, markers, pastels, and canvases were laid out in the classroom, ready for the students to use. Katsuko immediately grabbed a canvas, some paints, a paintbrush, and a sketch pencil before going to an easel next to the window, turning it so that it faced the window, and got to work. Her pencil instantly flew across the canvas, sketching lines so light that anyone who peeked wouldn't see the design. Next she added red and white paint to the areas necessary, shadowing by mixing a small amount of black to the red and white paints. Finally she added black paint in the areas outside the main design, mixing red into the black to make an almost-black red which she used to add depth.

When she finished, she painted her signature in bright red paint and small cursive at the bottom before cleaning up her art supplies and quietly whispering to the teacher that she had finished. She didn't have time to explain that she didn't want her work shown before Ms. Yuhi turned the easel with the painting around to view for herself.

The classroom, which had been bustling with conversation and activity, suddenly fell silent as, one by one, each student turned to view Katsuko's painting.

It was a black and deep red background, which resembled dark red water, behind a flourish of roses, some snow-white, most of them blood-red, all falling into the red water; most of them floated on the surface, two or three dipped slightly into it. It was morbid, but beautiful at the same time. At the bottom right corner, written in small but vibrant red letters, was her name. Next to it, in the same style and size, was a copywrite date: "© August 27, 2008". Only three people noticed that Katsuko's cheeks were beginning to match the red paint of the signature.

_Poor Katsuko! Ms. Yuhi doesn't know she's embarrassed about her artwork, even if it is really good! _That was Hinata as she gave Katsuko what she hoped was an encouraging look.

_Why is she blushing? It's beautiful, better than mine. Is she… embarrassed…? _This, of course, was Aries, who studied Katsuko very carefully as her face continued to get redder and redder.

_That's an interesting shade of red she's turning. Who knew Katsuko the tomboy could get embarrassed? _And that was Neji, who didn't know whether to be amused or pitying as he, too, surveyed Katsuko's reaction.

"This is beautiful," Ms. Yuhi said, "Have you taken lessons before? Katsuko?" "No ma'am. It's natural for me." "I'm sorry? You'll have to speak up a little." "It's natural, ma'am. I taught myself from looking at artwork other people did." "Really! That's incredible, Katsuko!"

"Katsuko? Are you alright? You look like you have a fever." "I feel a little ill." "Would you like to go to the nurse's room?" "Yes ma'am." "Would you like someone to–"

"I'll take her to the nurse's room, Ms. Yuhi." Everyone turned to look at Aries, who was already walking towards Katsuko. Before anyone else, he saw Katsuko's knees start to tremble, and could sense she was getting faint. Stage Freight, and a massive dose of it, too.

Katsuko, on the other hand, hadn't noticed how weak she was feeling until Aries slung one of her arms over his shoulders. _Maybe I should've spoken up sooner, _Katsuko thought, _singing and showing my artwork to others. Those two things I need to avoid. Acting is no sweat, but gods forbid I sing or draw in front of anyone else. Oi, I hate Mondays. Wait, why the hell is Aries helping me? He's supposed to be a jackass! __**Who cares? **__Boy, you sound real awake. I thought Inners didn't get Stage Freight. __**That means you're… stupid… **__Oi…_

**§§§§§§**

Halfway to the nurse's room…

"Jeez, your artwork's great, and you get embarrassed? That's almost sad." "Yeh…" "You still feel dizzy?" Nod. "Wow. You aren't going to pass out, are you?" "Dunno…" "Try not to until we get to the nurse's office." "Yeh…"

_She's really out of breath. Ugh, she is going to pass out. Joy._

Sure enough, just as he started to ask her if she wanted him to carry her, she tripped. Aries, being fast to start, caught her and carried her, bridal style, to the nurse's room, daring anyone he passed to say something. _At least she's not _that _heavy… Actually, she's kinda light for her height…_

It seemed like years before they reached the nurse's room.

* * *

**A/N: Another long chapter! Ack!**

**Yes, the first day of school always seems the longest, but have no fear; only two more chapters and the first day of school is over! Yay!**

**What's with Aries, btw? He's supposed to be a cold-hearted bastard! Things are getting interesting…**

**Trivia: Unari's full name, Sabishii Unari, literally translates to "lonely howl". I gave her the name because, as you'll find out later in the story, she has an… interesting best friend. And then there's the whole emo thing…**


	7. First Day of School Finale

**Disclaimer: Because I've been threatened with a lawsuit, I'm forced to say a standard disclaimer. Ahem.**

**I own them all!!! (gets sued)**

**No I don't actually. But I kidnapped Sasuke and chained him to my bed… Bwahaha…**

* * *

When Katsuko awoke, she was in a white room, laying on an extremely uncomfortable cot. A warm, wet cloth was on her forehead, and a light sheet covered her up to her chin. She sensed someone else in the room, but was too tired to even lift her head to see who it was. A sudden weight landed lightly on her chest, and she found herself nose to nose with Midoru-kun, who looked more than a little worried. "Meow?" _Pad. Pad. Bap._

Katsuko forced a smile onto her lips and said, "I'm fine, Midnight." She sensed the other person stir, and an all-too familiar voice calmly asked, "So you're finally awake? Kats?" _Naruto? _"What do you mean (yawn) finally? How long's it been?" "I mean finally, and it's been five or six minutes. You passed out in the hallway, right after you said you'd try _not _to." _No, shoot! It's Aries! Wait… how'd he know my nickname? _As if he'd read her mind, Aries immediately said, "One of the nurses called you Kats, so I figured I'd confuse you some." She could almost see the taunting smirk on his face.

So, she decided to make him squirm.

"Why'd you stay here? I thought you hated me."

Silence, but not the awkward silence she had anticipated.

"I don't want to seem rude. Just dropping you off would make me seem heartless." Of course.

Just then a nurse came in; Katsuko relaxed as she realized it was Mizuki, the only nurse who used Katsuko's nickname. "Good! You're awake, Kats! You can go back to class soon, though it ends in about nine minutes or so."

"I'll stay with her, if that's alright. I don't want to just leave her here."

And Katsuko reminded herself to get revenge on Aries.

**§§§§§§**

As soon as the door to the nurse's office had closed, Katsuko whirled on Aries, her eyes flashing angrily. "Next time you decide to be chivalrous," she snarled, fury dripping thickly from each syllable, "At least lie and tell them you need to go _straight back to class._" Without waiting for his or Midnight's response, she turned and stormed off. She still had about eight minutes; if she was fast, she could make it back to Art to collect her painting before Ms. Yuhi decided to put it on display.

"Mew?"

She looked down; Midnight's eyes were stretched wide in fear, his paws curled tightly, his fur bristling.

Instantly she regretted her sudden outburst. Rubbing her cheek repeatedly in his fur, Katsuko apologized continuously, not completely ignoring the fact that she could feel Aries walking closer to her than she would've liked. Midnight was instantly purring again, batting Katsuko's nose as though to scold her.

Aries didn't know who the adult of the two was: Katsuko, or Midnight.

**§§§§§§**

After retrieving and hiding her artwork in an unknown location (she knew even Hinata and Unari would start looking if she so much as dropped a hint), Katsuko, along with all of her friends and rivals, walked to their final class for the day: Drama.

Of course, it was in a normal classroom, though the location was sure to change, if Katsuko had heard right. She'd eavesdropped in the girl's bathroom during lunch, and had heard Ino, Sakura, and Temari talking about it excitedly. And when they had left, she finally managed to swallow the bile that had risen in her throat. Midnight batted her nose to snap her from her thoughts; the teacher had entered the room – class had begun.

Not surprisingly, Anko, the teacher who'd sent Katsuko to the Principal's Office almost eighteen times for disrespectful behavior, was the drama teacher. As soon as Katsuko saw her she ducked behind Unari and said, "Meep." Unari rolled her eyes and dragged Katsuko to a spot in the back, with the guys, before going to sit in her spot between Gaara and Hinata. Sasuke and Neji were sitting in the middle of the rest of the guys and Katsuko, trying to hide before rabid fangirls spotted them. Naruto, Kiba, and Shikamaru were arguing over who's fault it was that they had gotten caught painting the "mural", with Akamaru trying to eat Naruto's hand; Chouji was next to Katsuko, chowing down on barbeque chips. Midnight was sleeping in Katsuko's lap.

"Alright, kiddies, listen up! Our first play is going to be…"

Dramatic pause, accented by a tense silence in the air.

"_The Phantom of the Opera!"_

The room burst into groans. "Quiet!" Anko snapped. They went quiet.

"Now then, we have several lead and supporting roles, so, who wants to try out for the Phantom, Eric? Anyone?"

No one but Gaara raised his hand. Whispers of "He can _sing?_" and "Well, he _is_mysterious." could be heard as he stepped up to the front of the room.

"_I gave you my music . . . made your song take wing . . . and now, how you've repaid me: denied me and betrayed me . . . He was bound to love you when he heard you sing . . . Christine . . . You will regret the day you did not do all the Phantom asked of you!"_

Silence. Stunned silence. He couldn't just sing.

Gaara could sing _well_. Well enough that even Anko was stunned to silence.

She found her voice just seconds before everyone else did. "A-alright, now who wants to be Christine?"

Unari's hand shot up, as did Katsuko's, Tenten's, and Hinata's. "Unari."

"_I remember there was mist . . . swirling mist upon a vast, glassy lake . . . There were candles all around, and on the lake there was a boat. . . and in the boat there was a man . . ."_

_She can sing, too?_Now Katsuko was nervous. Unari was also very good. _**So are you. **__Yah, but we get stage freight, 'member? __**Just look at the sheet music and don't think about the crowd!**_

"Katsuko, you're up."

She was handed a different song than Unari had received, but she knew how to sing it.

"_Child of the wilderness, born into emptiness, learn to be lonely. Learn to find your way in darkness. Who will be there for you? Comfort and care for you? Learn to be lonely. Learn to be your one companion. Never dreamed, out in the world, there were arms to hold you. You've always known your heart was its own! So laugh in your loneliness, child of the wilderness. Learn to be lonely; learn how to love life that is lived alone. Learn to be lonely. Life can be lived, life can be loved alone."_

"Mew."

There was a hushed silenced as she hurried back to her seat before stage freight set in again. She was too preoccupied with fighting another blush to notice the other singers, but she was the first to hop out of her seat when the last bell rang.

She was only slightly aware that Aries was tailing her; he caught up quickly and murmured, "You sang brilliantly. Like an angel straight from Heaven." She blushed madly but held her glare as she snapped, "No one asked _you_, jackass." "You know that snarl's fake," he said, grinning. She narrowed her eyes dangerously and growled before stalking away, furious at her stll-red face, and even more furious that Aries was right.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the wait! I got writer's block for a while, then my computer shut itself down because I left it on too long an erased my file for this chapter. I'll try to be good and stay on track now.**

**Trivia: Katsuko's full name, Mizuki Katsuko, literally translates to "third moon victorious". I gave her the name because she likes roaming around at night and hates losing, as you'll find out later.**

**(WARNING: Test One will be in chapter ten's author notes, so STUDY THE AUTHOR NOTES FOR 1-9!!!)**

**(WARNING: Test One will be in chapter ten's author notes, so STUDY THE AUTHOR NOTES FOR1-9!!!) **


	8. Home Life, Dreams, and Emailed Worries

**Disclaimer: Weee… You don't want to know what I've been doing to Sasuke-kun…**

**Sasuke: Please don't leave me alone with her!**

* * *

"_You pray it all away and it continues to grow… Or maybe this is danger and you just don't know…"_

Unari sat at her computer, trying to type up a poem she'd written months ago. She wasn't used to copying for written to typed poetry, and found it to be quite irritating. Every time she typed something, she had to check to make sure it was what she had written. Absolutely infuriating. To ease her stress, she decided to assign each rhyme to someone she knew. _Verse one is definitely Katsuko. She seems to be caught in an interesting love… shape…_

"_You try to hide the truth away and it still haunts you… Perhaps to hide was something you weren't meant to do…"_

_That sounds like me… wait, huh? I need a break…_

She pushed away from her desk irritably and stalked into the kitchen to get a soda. Her mother and father were out on a "Re-Igniting" date, something they did every month to "keep their relationship young," as they put it. Unari had been left alone with her older siblings, twin brother and sister, who enjoyed poking fun at Unari. They were in the attic, their "game room", playing their newest videogame. She decided no to prolong the time she spent outside of the safety of her room; when she returned to her seat, she found a line she hadn't typed on the screen:

"_A bleeding rose is a bleeding heart…"_

Baffled, she typed the rest of the verse, remembering that it was her favorite verse.

"_A bleeding rose is a bleeding heart aching painfully… But love can heal the heart and sew it up fully…"_

_But who started the verse?_

**§§§§§§**

Katsuko was laying on her stomach with her face buried deep into her fluffy pillows. Her Linkin Park CD was turned up to 11, masking the noise of her screaming into her pillows. Midnight was balled up next to her, yowling with the music.

"_Why the hell are Aries and Sasuke acting so weird?!" _She screamed, though it sounded more like, "Wmm tmm hmm mmm ammm an mmmmm ammn mo mmm?!" Midnight was playing with her hair now, tucking playfully on her now-tangled red mane.

With an irritated moan, she flipped onto her back and glared fiercely at the ceiling. It was angled, because her room (as well as the rest of the second floor of her house) had originally been the left end of the attic. They had recently added a basement, to replace the attic's use as a storage room/hangout. The ceiling started out eight feet up, and was six feet up by the time it reached the opposite wall. Posters of Linkin Park, Within Temptation, Weird Al, Rihanna, and Barlow Girl littered her walls and ceiling where they fit between her various paintings. It was lucky her room took up a third of the second floor; the five posters and eleven paintings took up so much space that on one wall it was difficult to tell if the walls were deep red wine-colored or black. She liked deep red and creamy white colors; her ceiling was a pretty cream color, mottled with her Within Temptation poster.

"Mew?" Midoru-kun looked her in the eyes as if trying to ask her something. He'd been fed earlier; he couldn't be hungry now.

She sat up and sat him in her lap, stroking his fur as she started to confide in him.

"Sasuke's acting strange, Midoru-kun. He acts like he's suddenly got a thing for me. He used to despise me. And Aries… I don't know _what _his deal is. Oi, it's confusing, ya know? I mean, I like Neji, not Sasuke, and _definitely _not Aries. Why don't they get that? Midnight?" "Meow." "Yah, I probably should start worrying less. Do you think I'll get Christine?" "Mew." "Yah, right. Better to be optimistic, right?" "Meew." "Oh, yah. Christine's got the most songs to sing. Well, what do _you _think I'll get?" "Meow." "Meg? Madame Giry's kid? Ew. I don't think I like that idea too much." "Mrow." "Did you just roll your eyes?"

"Well, maybe Unari'll get Christine. And Gaara's sure to get Raoul. Right?" "Mew."

**§§§§§§**

At Neji's house…

"A-_CHOOO!!_" "Neji, did you just sneeze?" "Yes. Why?" "Oh. My. God. You're _HUMAN!!!_" "Hanabi, shut up."

**§§§§§§**

Sasuke's house…

"_Chooo!_" "Bless you, little brother." "Thanks."

**§§§§§§**

Aries's house…

"_Chffff!_" "Goodness! Aries, do you have a cold?" "No, I think someone's badmouthing me or something." "Now who would do that?" "…Gram, not everyone's a saint, you know…" "Oh, everyone has _some_good inside." "…Right…"

**§§§§§§**

"Achoo." "Wow, you're so emo, even you're _sneezes _are emotionless." "Shut it, Ryo." "Touchy, touchy."

**§§§§§§**

"ha-_gsfgbt!_" "Gaara, you actually know how to sneeze?" Death glare. "Sorry, bro, just asking." "Kankuro, you're a wimp." "Temari, how could you?" "Shut up."

**§§§§§§**

When she finally went to sleep, Katsuko's dreams were filled with many terrifying things. In every dream, the colors red, black, and blue were always present (one dream was nothing but those three colors swirling together). In one dream, she was surrounded by growling wolves. When she tried to run, she was held in place by Sasuke, who roughly grabbed her arm and threw her down, saying she wasn't going anywhere.

In another dream she was sitting at the edge of a cliff, but the place where she was sitting crumbled and she fell into a deep river below.

Another dream showed Aries and Sasuke beating her up, Aries holding her arms while Sasuke aimed a punch at her stomach.

A fourth was quick, showing flashes of people she knew well accusing her of being an idiot or a coward, depending on the person.

A fifth showed a raven-black adder twisting around her neck.

Another showed her as a warrior in a battle, but she was quickly killed.

The most frightful showed her a number of things. She was writing something when a giant white wolf attacked her; she killed it, then fell to her knees in grief. Someone came and helped her to her feet; she thought she knew the person, but their entire being was engulfed in shadow. When they turned away, she called for them to come back, but they ignored her. Her dream ended with another swirl of black, deep blue, and red.

She sat up with a scream, startling Midnight out of his sleep. She looked at her clock; 5:45 in the morning. She had two hours before she would need to get ready for school.

She rushed to her computer and went on the internet, typing "what do my dreams mean" in the search bar. She licked on the first one; it was alphabetized, but she found most of the elements in her dreams.

_**Abandonment-**__ Signifies that your need to let a past attitude or characteristic go. A more literal look may suggest you are afraid of being deserted, abandoned, or even betrayed._

_**Abuse- **__If you are being abused either verbally or physically forewarns that you will fall into the hands of an enemy._

_**Abyss- **__To dream that you are falling into an abyss, symbolizes the depths of your unconscious. The abyss may also represent your primal fears and feelings of "falling into the pit of despair" or fear of "taking the plunge"._

_**Accuse- **__Signifies that you may be feeling guilty or that you are doubting your decisions._

_**Adder- **__Signifies a sly or cunning person who should not be trusted._

_**Black- **__Signifies fear, hatred, depression, or anxiety. May signal that something in your is disturbing you greatly._

_**Blue- **__Signifies attitude to life itself. If mixed with black (dark blue), it signals you have a negative view on a certain aspect or person in your life._

_**Battle- **__Signifies you are trying to repress an instinct or feeling towards someone or something._

_**Cliff- **__Signifies you have a higher awareness of those around you, and may fear losing control._

_**Coward- **__Signifies you are afraid to reveal a part of yourself. May also mean your fears are hindering your own self-growth._

_**Red- **__Shade and companion colors are very important. Maroon signals frigidity. Red and black signals anger or hatred._

_**Warrior-**__Signifies your ability to handle an upcoming trial._

_**Wolves- **__Signifies mystery, solitude, and danger. Killing a wolf may signify betrayal or abandonment. Grief at the death of a wolf may signify a low point in you life following a betrayal._

_**Writing-**__Signifies a conscious communication with someone you may not like. May also denote a mistake you have or will make._

She copied the results she found on saved them on a word document under "Dreams to Monitor". She'd spent fifteen minutes finding out what the things she remembered meant; she was only slightly less confused. She sent an email to Hinata, confiding in her friend about the worries her dreams had caused. After hitting "send", she went over to her stereo and put her Barlow Girl CD on, trying to calm herself down as she started working on a new painting.

**§§§§§§**

Neji was the first one awake at his mansion. According to the deal he'd made with his two cousins, the first one awake had to look through any and all emails they'd received the day before. Joy.

There were three adds (meaningless junk; he deleted those) and a message for Hinata, from silverdemonspirit. The title was "I swear to Kami I'll murder anyone who reads this and isn't Hinata". Three guesses who _that_was from. Even though he wasn't supposed to _read _the emails they'd been sent, he opened the email anyway, expecting some stupid little good morning note or something. What he found was surprising:

_Hinata-_

_I'm kinda confused. I had these really… weird dreams last night and don't know what they mean. I looked up the stuff I remembered, but it only confused me more._

**Abandonment-** Signifies that your need to let a past attitude or characteristic go. A more literal look may suggest you are afraid of being deserted, abandoned, or even betrayed.

**Abuse- **If you are being abused either verbally or physically forewarns that you will fall into the hands of an enemy.

**Abyss- **To dream that you are falling into an abyss, symbolizes the depths of your unconscious. The abyss may also represent your primal fears and feelings of "falling into the pit of despair" or fear of "taking the plunge".

**Accuse- **Signifies that you may be feeling guilty or that you are doubting your decisions.

**Adder- **Signifies a sly or cunning person who should not be trusted.

**Black- **Signifies fear, hatred, depression, or anxiety. May signal that something in your is disturbing you greatly.

**Blue- **Signifies attitude to life itself. If mixed with black (dark blue), it signals you have a negative view on a certain aspect or person in your life.

**Battle- **Signifies you are trying to repress an instinct or feeling towards someone or something.

**Cliff- **Signifies you have a higher awareness of those around you, and may fear losing control.

**Coward- **Signifies you are afraid to reveal a part of yourself. May also mean your fears are hindering your own self-growth.

**Red- **Shade and companion colors are very important. Maroon signals frigidity. Red and black signals anger or hatred.

**Warrior- **Signifies your ability to handle an upcoming trial.

**Wolves- **Signifies mystery, solitude, and danger. Killing a wolf may signify betrayal or abandonment. Grief at the death of a wolf may signify a low point in you life following a betrayal.

**Writing- **Signifies a conscious communication with someone you may not like. May also denote a mistake you have or will make.

_Like I said, I don't know what this means. Please talk to me about it at school, or else send me an email sometime. Just try to make it SOON._

_-Katsuko_

_P.S. Midoru-chan says "mew"._

Neji raised an eyebrow and closed the email, sighing as he got up from the computer desk._Katsuko's just plain weird, _he decided, though now he couldn't stop mulling over why Katsuko would act so jittery about a bunch of tricks her mind was playing.

* * *

**A/N: W00t! Chapter 8 is out! Awesome!**

**I wanted to show readers the kind of imagination Katsuko had, as well as add some humor to the story. I really like how this chapter came out, even if it IS obscenely long (2034 words).**

**Trivia: Katsuko actually has little control over her emotions, and is easily angered, saddened, or excited. She also has a heart of marshmallow despite the fact that she's a tomboy.**


	9. Hell in the Composition Classroom

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Sasuke escaped because his fangirls beat me up and stole the keys to his shackles. So if anyone wants to help me catch Naruto-kun…**

* * *

Katsuko was in a daze as she walked to school. Trying to figure out dreams wasn't something she was exceptionally good at, and the dreams she'd had last night were more than a little confusing to begin with. Hopefully Hinata had received her email and would be able to help her out a little.

Unari and Hinata were waiting when she got to the school's fence. After passing Midnight through the fence to Unari, Katsuko climbed up the fence, more clumsily than usual, and dropped to the ground without looking. Her foot hit a small dip in the ground, and she hit her stomach with a yelp. "Sonova–" she started, then stopped when Midnight mewed in protest. "K-Katsuko-chan! A-are you okay?" Hinata asked, rushing to help Katsuko up. "I think I hurt my ankle," Katsuko said, wincing as her injured left foot touched the ground, "Ugh. Beautiful."

Slinging one arm over Unari's shoulders and the other arm over Hinata's, Katsuko sighed and started hopping towards the school entrance, daring anyone she passed to say anything.

On the way they stopped to see if the casting list was up yet. Pushing through the small crowd around it, the three girls stood and stared at the cast that had been chosen. All four jaws dropped; even Midnight was stunned.

**Cast for **_**THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA**_

_**(Sophomore Drama class)**_

**PHANTOM – Gaara**

**CHRISTINE – Unari Sabishii**

**RAOUL – Neji Hyuuga**

**CARLOTTA – Ino Yamanaka**

**PIANGI – Chouji Akimichi**

**MEG – Katsuko Mizuki**

**MADAME GIRY – Tenten**

**MONSIEUR REYER – Aries**

**MONSIEUR LEFEVRE – Kiba Inuzuka**

**MONSIEUR GILLES ANDRE – Naruto Uzumaki**

**MONSIEUR RICHARD FIRMAN – Shikamaru Nara**

**JOSEPH BUQUE – Sasuke Uchiha**

**CARLOTTA GROUPIE ONE – Sakura Haruno**

**CARLOTTA GROUPIE TWO – Hinata Hyuuga**

**CARLOTTA GROUPIE THREE – Temari**

Katsuko laughed loudly, almost falling over in the process. She'd seen The Phantom of the Opera a few times, and she knew Sasuke had gotten the stage manager and first character to get killed off. And Aries had gotten an old guy who had to be like seventy years old. It was heaven!

**§§§§§§**

Of course, before they had gotten halfway to the nurse's room, Sasuke came and "took her off of Hinata and Unari's hands", carrying Midnight in one hand and supporting Katsuko with the other, ignoring her occasional glares as they passed several people, most of whom were likely to gossip. Katsuko made a mental note to push Sasuke in front of a bus. Or a tanker, if she could find one going fast enough.

"You know, I'm perfectly capable of hobbling all the way to the office."

"Yah, sure."

Katsuko growled fiercely at him. She didn't want to be anywhere near him, especially not after her weird dreams last night. He smirked that infuriating smirk of his and stayed with her, like Aries, even after she was in the office. Katsuko had a feeling they were both either hitting on her or teaming up to try and drive her mad. She chose the second one, as the first one made about as much sense as a cat with a unicorn horn and wings. This was the tomboy, remember. She didn't understand why guys like Naruto and Kiba drooled when she showed off her legs.

What _really _ticked her off was when he walked _back _to class with her. _What does he have, every class I do? __**Apparently yes. **__Ugh. I really don't need this. __**He is a little annoying, isn't he? **__A little? __**Yep. **__Please shut up.__**Okay. **__Oi…_

"Uhm, Sasuke," she said, trying to keep the growl out of her voice, "I think I can manage on my own. I wouldn't want you missing class if I tripped…"

That's when Aries showed up. Without warning, Katsuko's heart seized and she lurched forward with a strangled cry. Sasuke and Aries both looked at her quizzically; she smiled weakly and said, "I told you I was going to trip."

The two boys looked dubious, but both shrugged it off and the group went their separate ways.

Well, Aries walked ahead, and Sasuke stayed with Katsuko; they all had the same class.

_What _was_ that?! __**Fear. **__Of what?! __**Of **_**whom,**_**you mean. **__What?! __**Here, let me say it to you slowly:**__**You. Are. Afraid. Of. Aries. **__I am not! __**Sure… **__This is why I can't get laid…__**What, because you fight with your inner on a daily basis?**__Shut it._

**§§§§§§**

Composition was their first class. Katsuko wasn't exactly Shakespeare when it came to writing, but her love of literature had taught her enough basics to be better than most of her fellow classmates. She especially loved to write folklore and short stories; she didn't have the humility to ask Unari or Hinata… or _anyone_, for that matter… to help her improve yet.

Their teacher was, not surprisingly, Jiraiya. **(A/N: Don't worry, kiddies, he's doesn't teach them how to write dirty things. He's just excessively perverted with the girls.)**

All of the students (minus Sasuke, Aries, Midnight, and Gaara) groaned; Jiraiya had been their homeroom teacher, a situation they had been hoping to avoid this year. Even Neji groaned, causing Katsuko to blush as she remembered that first day of high school, when Jiraiya had mistaken Neji for a girl ("Can't a guy have long hair without some old pervert thinking he's a chick?" – or something along those lines – was heard throughout the school all through first period).

Surprisingly, things went smoothly until Jiraiya walked by Katsuko and "dropped" something down her shirt. With his hand very, uh, close to her chest.

And that's when all Hell was unleashed upon the small Composition classroom.

Chairs and desks flew at the surprisingly nimble old man. Students screamed and cowered in corners. Some called their parents or curled up in a fetal position. Pens and pencils were thrown like darts. Really accurate darts aimed at Jiraiya's butt and precious gems, if you catch my drift.

Unari viewed the chaos with mild fear. _Serves the old croon right. Oi, Katsuko's really mad, isn't she? She must be stressed; Hinata _did _mention something about an email Katsuko sent… __**Ooh, she said Katsuko had some nightmares, hee-hee! **__Why is my Inner an airhead? __**Inners are technically your opposites, yep-yep!**__…So asking you to mercy-kill me would have no effect?__**Nope, uh-uh! **__I wish I were dead…_

Something furry touched her hand; Midoru-kun mewled and snuggled close to Unari as a stray pencil suddenly struck the ground two inches away. Unari's eyes widened; the pencil hadn't bounced off the ground, but instead had stayed sticking out of the carpet at the angle it landed at.

Sasuke and Aries, meanwhile, had hidden under the same table, and were now engaged in trying to scare each other away from Katsuko **(A/N: YES, LADIES AND GENTS! It's official, they're both crushing on her!)**

"You know, I hear the more violent the female, the more high-maintenance she is," Aries chuckled.

"Yah, and you don't seem like the kind of guy who could both up with _that _sort of woman wrath." That was Sasuke, also chuckling.

Their chuckles turned to growls, and soon they'd entered the Battle of the Glares: Uchiha v. Tsukiyo.

Those who witnessed the epic Battle of the Glares were sure that Armageddon had arrived.

* * *

**A/N: Wow. Katsuko is not a happy camper, ne?**

**In case you're wondering...**

**_Sasuke and Aries finally revieled that they are crushing on Katsuko! OMFingG!_ **

**Trivia: Aries's last name, Tsukiyo, means "moon". It doesn't indicate anything about him (yet), I was just searching for a last name for him.**

**TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ****TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **

**TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ****TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **

**TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ****TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **

**TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ****TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **

**TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! ** **TEST ON THE STORY IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! **


	10. NOTES, NOT THE QUIZ

**NOTE TO ALL MY FAITHFUL READERS AND REVIEWERS!**

**I just wanted to make a few things clear, and no, no one is in trouble (just wanted to say that in advance).**

**First, the play that Katsuko and crew (lol) will be doing is based on the Phantom of the Opera movie that was released in 2004 (or was it 2005? I don't pay attention to dates ), so if there are parts you aren't familiar with or if it seems too short, well, now you know why.**

**Second, the chapter ten quiz will cover EVERY TRIVIA/QUOTE/OTHER AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER, as well as some things found in the story but not in the t/q/o.**

**Third, to answer the chapter ten quiz questions, you must post the QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS in your REVIEW. My messages are crammed as it is.**

**Fourth, the treat for answering every question correctly is:**

**YOU GET TO STAR IN AT LEAST ONE CHAPTER OF THE STORY OMFG!!! YOU EVEN GET TO CHOOSE HOW IMPORTANT YOU ARE IN THE STORY, WHICH MEANS YOU CAN EVEN BE A MAIN CHARACTER!!! W00T!!!**

**And fifth, be sure to check my profile every day until Easter, because I might post an AMV/Fanart contest if I reach 800 or more views on this story, or if more than ten people take the chapter ten quiz, whichever comes first. If I post an AMV/Fanart contest, the announcement will be in my FANFICTION section on my profile.**

**Thank you for reading,**

**-Wrath**


	11. QUIZ, NOT THE NOTES

**Disclaimer: Thank you to those who offered to help me catch Naruto-kun, unfortunately Hinata attacked me with a missile launcher and he escaped. Oh, and I don't own Naruto… Yet…**

* * *

After the terror that was Composition class, Katsuko, Midnight, Unari, Hinata, Sasuke, Aries, Neji, Tenten, Sakura, Ino, Temari, Gaara, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, Choji, and Shikamaru all sit around a huge conference table, working on questions for a funny exam that they'll try to stump you with. 

Gaara and Unari place their questions in front of Ino, the team leader. She reads them, nods in approval, and continues working on her questions, ignoring Katsuko's death glares and Midnight's occasional yowls and hisses.

When all of the questions are finished, Ino places the questions to one paper, passes the paper to you, and says, "Good luck, loser. No cheeting!" Stupid popular girl.

**THE TEST!!!**

**1. Gaara wants to know what role he got in the play.**

**2. Unari wants to know what color Aries's eyes are.**

**3. Katsuko wants to know what embarrasses her the most.**

**4. Midnight says "Mew". Translation:**

**a) Stop that.**

**b) Feed me.**

**c) You're funny**

**d) WTF?! You never told us!!!**

**e) Any of the above.**

**5. Naruto wants to know that cheesy pickup line from the beginning of the story (Trivia).**

**6. Sakura still doesn't know what the difference is between a carnation and a rose. Do you know? (If you get this wrong… wow… this is an opinion question…)**

**7. Neji wants to know why Tenten tackled him.**

**8. Hinata wants to know what Midnight's breed is.**

**9. Sasuke wants to know if Katsuko is afraid of Aries.**

**10. Aries wants to know what role Katsuko has in the play.**

**11. Kiba wants to know what Midnight's nickname is.**

**12. Akamaru wants to know what Midnight's nickname means.**

**13. Choji wants to know the three types of animals Katsuko has a soft spot for:**

**a) Canines, felines, and avians.**

**b) Canines, reptiles, and felines.**

**c) Fish, reptiles, and insects.**

**d) WTF?! AAHH! MY BRAIN!!! **(A/N: If you choose this one, you fail. Period.)

**14. Shikamaru wants to know how Katsuko can tell if someone likes math.**

**15. Temari wants to know which poster is on Katsuko's bedroom ceiling:**

**a) Linkin Park**

**b) Barlow Girl**

**c) Within Temptation**

**d) Eminem**(A/N: If you choose this, I will murder you for paying as much attention as an ant.)

**16. Tenten wants to know if Kakashi is wearing a mask in this story. (Worth mega points because it's extremely difficult)**

**17. Ino wants to know what Unari's full name, Sabishii Unari, means. (Also tricky)**

When you finish taking the test, Wrath bursts in and screams, "Wait! I forgot my questions!"

"Dude, you broke the fourth wall!"

"Shut up, Katsuko."

**WRATH'S QUESTIONS ****(dun dun duuun…)**

**(Yes, you must answer these, too.)**

**1. Which teacher sent Katsuko to the Principal's Office eighteen times for disrespectful behavior?**

**2. Which lyrics was NOT in the song Katsuko sang for Phantom of the Opera tryouts?**

a) "…**Life can be loved alone…"**

b) "**Learn to be lonely, learn to navigate the darkness…"**

c) "**Never dreamed, out in the world, there were arms to hold you…"**

d) "…**Your heart was on its own!..."**

**3. What is Katsuko's full name and what does it mean?**

**4. Type one verse from Unari's poem in chapter eight.**

**5. Which of the following characters has a grandmother who thinks everyone is good inside?**

**a) Sasuke**

**b) Neji**

**c) Unari**

**d) Aries**

**6. How did Sasuke escape from Wrath in chapter nine's disclaimer?**

**7. How did Naruto escape Wrath? **(A/N: If you get this one wrong... Wow... Just wow...)

**8. What did Wrath call Itachi in chapter six's disclaimer?**

**9. For how many chapters did Wrath hold Deidara hostage in the basement?**

**10. About how long did it take you to finish the quiz? **

Everyone groups together and smiles as you hand the quiz back. "Good luck!" they exclaim before handing it to Tsunade to correct.

As you exit the room, you're sure you can hear World War III erupt as Katsuko screams,_"Die, popular girls!"_

You decide it's best to run away.

* * *

**A/N: Well, here's the test! The questions from THE TEST will be worth five points each, except for #s 2, 14, and 16, which will be worth ten points because of the greater difficulty level. Questions from WRATH'S QUESTIONS will be worth 10 points each except for #10, because the time you spend tells me how good your memory is. PLEASE DO NOT CHEAT. Thank you! . **


	12. Battle of the Glares II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto… However, I'm planning to assassinate Sakura, Ino, and Karin to increase my chances with Sasuke…**

* * *

After five or six teachers had finally broken up what would go down in history as High School War I, and after several people were sent to the Nurse's Office, It was time for Algebra II. But, since it's a boring class that I'm sure a lot of people would like to outlaw, we'll just skip right on to lunch **(A/N: Foreign Languages, the class between Composition and Algebra II, was lost in HSWI, and won't show up again for a long time. A moment of silence for the lost period)**. 

A very ruffled looking Katsuko, holding a large black dust bunny with big gold eyes, sat across the table from the popular girls, squished between Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru, and Chouji. She was eating the lunch room's mystery lunch, which looked suspiciously like McScarfin'Barf's food **(I don't want to advertise too much… Besides, as much as I love McDonald's, McScarfin'Barf sounds funnier…)**. Not that she was complaining; she practically _lived _on fast food. If it was Pepsi Prince food **(A/N: aka Burger King)**, she would've squealed with glee.

Chouji reached for one of her fries; she stabbed him with a fork she'd stolen from Kiba and growled fiercely. Chouji wisely decided to steal from someone else.

**§§§§§§**

Meanwhile, Battle of the Glares: Uchiha v. Tsukiyo had reached round 158.5. Round 159 was in progress. The others sitting at their table (Gaara, Neji, and Unari) were watching the two warily, ready to intervene should the glaring escalate to killing.

"Pass the Cheetos," Unari muttered, reaching for Neji's bag of Cheetos.

He glared at her.

She glared back at him.

And so the Battle of the Glares: Hyuuga v. Sabishii began.

Gaara, who had been getting ready to leave, now decided to stay put in case the two new "contestants" started trying to strangle each other.

**§§§§§§**

Next class: World History.

_Dun duh duuuuuun…_

Needless to say, Sakura wasn't looking forward to it _at all._ The only interesting thing about the class was when she was discreetly applying makeup or texting Ino and Temari, even though the three girls sat next to each other in every class. Other than that, the only funny or slightly-more-interesting-than-dirt thing that happened was an occasional well-aimed spit wad in the teacher's hair, and even that stopped being funny after the first fifty times.

She and her friends were the first ones in, sitting in three seats Ino had preselected and reserved during lunch. Each chair had a red ribbon, marking it_theirs_.

Sakura sighed and settled into her uncomfortable wooden chair. This was going to be a_long _fifth period. She exchanged looks with Temari and Ino before whipping out her cell phone and texting Temari:

_Mall at 2?_

**§§§§§§**

A few minutes later, Unari and Neji, still locked in BoG: H v. S, came stalking in, their eyes never leaving each other's faces, but not for any romantic reason, of course.

Snarl.

Glare.

Another snarl.

Blink.

"Ha! 27-26! I beat THE Hyuuga Neji!"

"By ONE point, yes."

Glare.

Glare.

Their glaring became so intense that an earthquake randomly erupted in the classroom, causing several books, pencils, pens, papers and a coffee cup to fall to the floor.

Unfortunately, this was merely a precursor **(A/N: Ooh, big word!) **to what was coming in behind an oddly nervous-looking Gaara.

Yes, I mean BoG: U v. T, the ultimate Armageddon showdown of… stuff… yah…

Sasuke and Aries also walked in side by side.

Glare.

Glare.

"I'm a cheese head."

"…"

"…"

Snicker. Snicker-snicker. Snicker-snicker-giggle-snicker.

"…"

Giggle – Blink.

"I win, 200-199."

"Damn!"

Glare.

Glare.

Windows shattered as lightning randomly struck the metal faucet of the water fountain. Girls screamed. Boys cried for their mommies.

Yes, it was going to be a _long _fifth period indeed.

* * *

**A/N: Too… Short…**

_**Anyway, just because the new chapter is out, don't think you can't take the test anymore. It will be open until the story is finished… Whenever that is…**_

**788 views! Just 12, count 'em 12 more views until the contest! Whoo!**

**We have a high score on the test: Holiday-Open (I hope that's spelled right) scored 160 out of a possible 200 on the quiz! Yayz! So far Holiday-Open is also the ONLY PERSON to take the test. START TESTING, DARNIT!**


	13. I'M SORRY! PLZ DON'T SMITE ME YET!

**To All My Possibly Terrified Readers-**

**I'm Soooo sorry! I have no idea what came over me!**

**I can't believe I yelled at you guys... I feel so mean...**

**To make it up, I will attempt to post three new chapters for this story... In this week. That's right, by Sunday, Feb. 24, there should be three new chapters in this story! And if there aren't... gulp... I put myself to the mercy of anyone who wishes to flame me... without fighting back...**

**Off to make good my promise,**

**-Wrath**


	14. Armageddon Ends, but the Danger Doesn't

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, why on earth would I yell at my readers for not participating? T.T**

* * *

How anyone survived World History was a mystery, but miraculously, everyone survived to see Drama class. Katsuko and Hinata made several attempts to pull Neji and Unari apart, but when that failed, they decided they shouldn't toy with fate and sat as far away from the two as they could get.

Unfortunately, they forgot that Sasuke and Aries were also still glaring at each other. They remembered it soon, though, when all the windows in the room shattered and the ground started shaking. _Here we go again,_Katsuko sighed, rolling her crystalline blue eyes.

Girls screamed, boys wet themselves, the sky got covered with purple and red clouds, it started raining snakes, yada, yada… You get the idea. It was Armageddon.

A chair whacked the two boys over their heads, knocking them out instantly. The snakes disappeared, the sky went back to normal, and angels sang as golden sunlight flooded the room. The students cheered and looked gratefully at their savior, their eyes doing that weird giant puppy eyes thing. Then their faces fell as they realized it was just Anko, holding a metal folding chair with one hand and studying the nails on the other.

Sasuke and Aries were lying in front of her, their eyes replaced with those stupid swirly things as large lumps formed on their heads where the chair had hit them.

"Will someone take these two to the nurse's room?" Anko tapped the stunned boys with her foot, as though she thought that would wake them up. "You can drag them if you want."

Katsuko and Gaara immediately raised their hands, Katsuko eager to drag one of the two boys and Gaara eager to get out of the room before something similar happened with Neji and Unari. Anko nodded at them, and soon they had dragged the two boys out, Gaara having no trouble hauling Aries out over his shoulder, and Katsuko having only minimal trouble dragging Sasuke by the arms.

**§§§§§§**

The first thing Sasuke was aware of when he woke up was the blinding white light. The second thing he was aware of was Katsuko hovering over him, looking less than worried.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty's finally awake," she said sarcastically, leaning back to look at someone in the other room, "Only took five hours."

A normal person would have shot right up, freaked out, and asked what time it was. Sasuke, the Prince of the Emos **(A/N: His brother is the King of the Emos. And no, in this story Itachi-kun is **_**not **_**evil, well not evil like kill people evil)**, merely sat up and asked, "What happened? And why are you here?"

Katsuko rolled her eyes, a trait she'd adapted from Unari, and said, "Your glaring contest with Aries was causing mass chaos, so Anko hit you guys over the heads with a chair. She had us drag you here." She jabbed her thumb at Gaara, who stood leaning against a doorway and staring at the ceiling tiles. "I dragged you here, and Gaara carried Aries like a sack of potatoes. Midoru-kun rode on your stomach while you were being dragged."

As if on cue, her stupid furball **(A/N: Gasp! Sasuke! How could you? Midoru-kun isn't stupid!) **mewled happily, batting Sasuke's nose.

"Get your paw off of my nose. Now."

"Mew." Bap.

Sasuke glared at the furball, who promptly gave him "The Look". It took less than thirty seconds for Sasuke to roll his eyes and turn his head to he side, signaling that Midnight had defeated the undefeatable (except by his "playfully abusive" brother) Sasuke.

**§§§§§§**

Aries was busy trying to figure out how and when to get Katsuko alone. He'd woken up a few minutes before Sasuke, and had left seconds before Midnight's impressive victory. He'd been awake and sneaky enough to see Katsuko's worried expression before she had hovered over that bird-butt Uchiha kid **(A/N: Bad reference to Sasuke's hair)**. Her expression hadn't changed until Sasuke had twitched in his sleep; what happened after was both satisfying… and worrying. That fact that she hadn't sat back until the Uchiha's eyes were fully open came to Aries as a threat.

And then there was that strange fiasco earlier that day, when school started. Katsuko claimed she had tripped, but her face had paled even before she lurched forward. She looked more scared than in pain.

Aries shook his head and continued walking. Whatever was going on, he'd figured out the solution by now.

In the nurse's room, Katsuko felt an ominous prick settle in her gut.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhangers are people, too…**

**Chapter one of three that I promised would be out by Sunday. A little short, but it's a climax chapter, so ha.**

**Even I'm surprising myself with Aries's character development. Is that a good thing?**

**Next chapter: Katsuko confronts her fears as Aries catches her alone behind the school, and Sasuke and Midnight are nowhere to be found.**

**Trivia: Aries is named after the first sign of the Western Zodiac. The sign is associated with challenge, aggression, and competition, as well as several other things. I'm making Aries very aggressive and competitive, aren't I?**


	15. Attacked I

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I would be an Asian man going through mid-life crisis and who draws comics for a living. Which I'm not.**

* * *

By the time they reached the Drama classroom, school had ended. Katsuko and Sasuke were the last to leave the nurse's room; Gaara had followed soon after Aries, saying he had only stayed to break up any fights that might have erupted between the other two boys. Since he was already with Unari, it was hard not to believe him.

Despite herself, Katsuko found that she actually sort of enjoyed talking to Sasuke, and decided that perhaps he wasn't as bad as Aries, who had definitely been the reason for her earlier "trip".

During the walk to class, Midoru-kun had decided to ride in Sasuke's hair, and after a short argument, the Emo Prince (insert lame joke here) had decided to let the furball play in his hair for as long as Midnight didn't claw or bite.

Although, considering the fact that Katsuko was walking next to him, he probably didn't have any choice.

**§§§§§§**

Aries was following the two, keeping far enough away that they wouldn't hear him, but close enough to see how they fared during the walk. The fact that they were walking so close, and that Sasuke was _letting _Midnight ride on his head while Katsuko did nothing, infuriated him to no end. However, he was used to high-stress competitions; soccer and basketball had both been his strong suits in junior high. He knew if he was patient, his chance would come.

_Good things come to those who wait, _he reminded himself, _I'll have to thank Gram for that life lesson sometime._

**§§§§§§**

Katsuko, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to the impending danger. Being so close to Sasuke, who was equal in strength to Neji and quite possibly just as confident, made that tickle in her stomach vanish, and she completely forgot the dark cloud that had hung over her since she left the nurse's room.

She forgot herself completely for one second, and that was all it took for that first spark to catch.

"Hey, Sasuke? Would you mind going on ahead and taking Midnight to my house after you grab your stuff? I've got to catch up in drama class. Hate to break it to you, but I got a character that actually lives through the intermission."

He smirked, despite the obviously discourteous comment, and nodded. Anything to gain even more of her trust.

"You know where my house is, right?"

Another nod, this time earning Sasuke the most beautiful smile he'd ever seen.

"Thanks!" she said, looking more to Sasuke like an angel than a Human.

**§§§§§§**

Aries was _fuming._How in the _hell _had Sasuke gotten a smile out of _Katsuko?_

_Stay calm, _he kept growling silently, _Stay calm, and wait. You heard them. Sasuke and Midnight are leaving before her. That'll be your chance. Don't blow it!_

He passed Unari, who had finally admitted defeat in her own Battle of the Glares with Neji. She promptly grabbed his arm with one hand, clutching it tightly enough to make his skin tingle painfully under her hand. He obviously was going to have to stop.

"What?" he snapped, looking her in the eye in an attempt to stare her down.

She gave him a long, hard glare in return, searching his eyes. Then she beamed and said, "Oh, it's nothing. I thought I saw a broken vessel. You know, a broken eye vessel can sometimes mean you're catching a cold. Well, see you later!" She released his now-numb arm and walked off, waving politely over her shoulder before rounding a corner. He stared after her, curious but not distracted. Sasuke had his bag and was leaving the building. Now was his chance.

**§§§§§§**

Unari quickly walked down the hall to the debate classroom, where Neji would be participating in his weekly after-school elective. Debate wouldn't start for a few more minutes, and she figured he was the safest person to tell.

Katsuko was danger, and she suspected that Aries wasn't going to play good guy this time.

**§§§§§§**

It was late. Katsuko had stayed after school reading and rereading every line she had, and had even tried some of the moves she was scripted to do. Simply highlighting every line she spoke was difficult; the script wasn't exactly two pages long.

By the time she left the classroom, the front entrance of the school had been locked, so she used a window in the closest bathroom (whether she was in the correct gender's bathroom, we don't know, and she really didn't care), which planted her behind the school, where there were no lights except the one over the dumpster she landed on. A chain link fence blocked the area off from stupid teenagers looking to spy on the opposite gender's restroom; a wood fence that separated the area from the tennis courts wrapped around from the corner of the building, making a ninety degree **(A/N: Right angle, for those not in the know)** turn to meet the opposite fence.

Let's recap: Katsuko was in an enclosed space, with the walls too high to scale in under a minute, and one wall, the wood fence, is too slick and stable to climb or go through. Her fastest escape rout, should she need it, was to get back into the school using the same window she came out of. There are no trees, and one light that doesn't want to stay on without flickering like a damn firefly. You got all that? Good. Let's continue.

As she leapt down from the dumpster, the spiky feeling from earlier came back, settling in her stomach like a cluster of white-hot needles. She ignored it, her first stupid mistake.

Her second was to linger when she saw a figure walking up to the chain link fence. She stood her ground, thinking that she would be able to fight off whoever it was should they decide to attack her. This thought, of course, was her third stupid mistake. You should _never_underestimate an enemy, and she would learn this the hard way.

She lost sight of the figure behind a large bush on the other side of the fence. As she turned to climb the chain link fence, someone grabbed her shoulder, and before she could react, she had been slammed, back first, into the wall of the school. She let out a hiss and snapped her eyes open to see who her attacker was.

A pair of lips slammed against her own, just as the stupid light flickered on again. She would have yelped in surprise if her mouth hadn't already been… occupied.

Her attacker was Aries.

Fear forced her still for barely a second before something in her snapped. She fought him, first trying to move her arms, then resorting to trying to squirm away when his grip tightened. He somehow lost his hold on her for the few seconds she needed to get going, but kicked her legs out from under her and had caught her again before she even hit the ground.

She did the only thing left she could do; still fighting to get free, she let out a single, piercing scream that lasted for the few seconds it took for Aries's hand to come around and cover her mouth. She bit him, hard enough to draw blood, but when he still wouldn't let go she knew she was screwed. He was stronger and faster than her, and had seemingly thought out every move she could possibly make. As her body started to go limp, she saw another figure leap from… somewhere, she couldn't exactly turn to look… and tackle Aries, knocking him off of her. As the two scuffled, she was left to try and get control of her fear-stricken body.

She crawled away from the two fighting shadows and cowered behind the dumpster. Still trembling she held her legs to her chest and rested her forehead on her knees.

_Why was I so stupid?_

* * *

**A/N: Wow, Katsuko really **_**is **_**scared of Aries, isn't she? Don't worry, in the next chapter she does some butt kicking herself.**

**Trivia: Katsuko's favorite food is deep fried chicken and fries. Yet another thing she picked up from animals; her first cat ate the same thing.**


	16. Attacked II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. If I did, I would be more patient with anime/manga haters. Mostly because by now they would all be dead.**

* * *

Katsuko finally managed to stop trembling long enough to peer around the dumpster to see what was happening. Neji, the one who'd tackled Aries, was locked in a fierce fistfight, and was matched move for move.

Someone's voice called out behind her.

"Run! Katsuko, get over the fence and run!"

Dazed, but willing to get away, she grabbed her bag and scaled the fence, leaping down to the ground on the other side. She was met with brutal heat as pain shot up her leg. She'd misjudged the height, and the landing had broken her already injured ankle. She swore loudly and crawled to the safety of the bush Aries had hidden in and tried to wrap her ankle in the medical tape she carried in case she saw an injured animal.

Just as she finished wrapping her ankle, she heard scuffling outside the bush. Now it was a girl helping Neji fight Aries; the girl wasn't much help, and was quickly knocked out. The girl's face was visible from where Katsuko sat, cowering in the bushes.

It was Unari.

Something in Katsuko snapped at seeing her not-quite-friend get hit and black out. With a yell that sounded more like a roar, she leapt out a swung hard and fast at Aries's face. She felt the satisfying crunch of bone has her fist connected squarely with his jaw, and silently remembered to thank her personal trainer for all the daily thrashings that were supposed to build strength and endurance. She growled and dodged as Aries swung for her stomach, completely forgetting Neji in his blind fury.

As his arm came past her stomach, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him forward, ramming her knee into his stomach with brutal force. He went down, clutching his stomach as he tried to get the air back into his lungs. Katsuko lunged at Aries, but was stopped by two strong arms coming around and holding her in a bear hug that pinned her arms to her sides.

She thrashed fiercely, still hell-bent on beating the snot out of Aries. She wanted to make him pay for making her afraid, for attacking her, for hurting Unari and Neji, the only two people who'd tried to help her. If she got loose she'd kill him. That's just how pissed off she was with him.

"Stop it now."

She didn't listen, instead responding by thrashing even more, causing the person holding her to loose his balance. They both hit the ground, the person's grip on Katsuko still iron-strong as she lay stunned from the impact. Her eyes flicked wildly around the area, finally taking in everything around her. Neji crouched in front of Unari, breathing heavily and watching Aries, ready to fight the black haired boy again if he had to. Aries was still struggling to breathe; he was pushing himself up, gulping at the air like it was water. Unari was just starting to come back around.

Katsuko froze. If Aries, Neji, and Unari weren't holding her down, then who was? In her rage, she hadn't identified the voice that told her to stop fighting, and had assumed it was another enemy. Now that she was calming down, she was becoming more rational; how many people did she know, aside from Aries, Neji, and Unari, that had the guts to hold her down?

She narrowed it down to either Sasuke or Gaara, and since the voice had been louder than Gaara's, she decided it must be Sasuke. She was proven right when she heard a loud mewl that could only be Midnight. The small kitten was crouching next to Katsuko's face, his eyes wide and glowing eerily. She instantly relaxed, the sight of Midnight's frightened face triggering her motherly instinct again.

Sasuke let her up when he felt her stop resisting; she immediately sat up and took Midnight in her arms, cuddling him and cooing apologies into his ear continuously. He purred loudly and bapped her nose with a scornful "Mew."

Despite herself, Katsuko laughed; he'd make a saint of her yet.

**§§§§§§**

When Unari opened her eyes, the grass underneath her had been replaced with a pillow, and something light and warm was covering her. The first thing she saw was a blinding white light, made brighter by the wine-red walls of the room. Within Temptation music was playing on volume 5, louder than she was used to.

And she knew she was in hell.

Yes, hell was a room painted red and white, with posters and paintings littering the walls and ceiling and emo metal music **(A/N: Just one character's opinion, folks! Plz don't smite me, because I like it too!) **playing nonstop on a radio that didn't play quite songs.

Oh, no wait. This wasn't hell. It was Katsuko's room. She could tell by the tiny black paw on her nose.

_Bap. _"Mreow?"

"Boo."

"Mew!" _Purr._

She sat up slowly and immediately flicked her eyes around the room. Katsuko was getting her ankle splinted by Sasuke; they'd have the school nurses take care of it tomorrow so her dad wouldn't flip out. Sasuke had enough to keep himself busy; between splinting Katsuko's ankle and dodging kicks from her good foot, he didn't look like he was dying of boredom. Neji was also busy; he was holding Katsuko in the chair so she wouldn't murder Sasuke. Midnight had wisely chosen to stay uninvolved.

"What happened to Aries?"

The question brought all attention to her. Katsuko started growling, and Sasuke had to give her a warning glare. Neji was the only calm one; his answer didn't show much care.

"He ran off after Katsuko slugged him."

"The coward ran away, dammit!" Katsuko hissed, causing Neji to tighten his grip on her arms, "Damn bastard!"

"You can hit him tomorrow," Sasuke said soothingly, "Now shut up and let me finish."

Begrudgingly, Katsuko shut her mouth, still fighting when Sasuke hit a sore spot. Midnight curled up on Unari's leg and mewled before falling asleep, purring quietly. For now, at least, things were peaceful.

But Unari somehow sensed that it wouldn't last long.

* * *

**A/N: Chapter two of three! Almost there! If I don't have chapter three of three up by Sunday morning, I'm screwed.**

**Next Chapter: we take a time skip and meet our crew two weeks later. Things have progressed nicely, and it seems that Katsuko s beginning to admit her feelings for Sasuke! But when a dance and a change of name for the school is announced, things between Katsuko and Aries start heating up again, and this time it's Sasuke who saves the day! Tune in for more action, drama, and romance on… wait, WTF?**

**Trivia: Unari's favorite color is actually fuschia. She blames her inner.**


	17. Two Weeks Later

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, I wouldn't have made a deal with my readers saying that they could flame me for a week if I didn't get three chapters up by Sunday. T.T**

**(A/N: Remember, this is two weeks later)**

* * *

Katsuko, Unari, and Hinata walked to school, talking about the last two weeks. Aries had made himself scarce for the past few weeks, much to the disappointment of a very agitated Katsuko, who still wanted revenge for what had happened behind the school, despite the constant warnings and worrying from Unari and Hinata, who thought it would be best to forget the whole thing altogether.

Another major thing had happened in Katsuko's life: she and Sasuke had managed to become "acquaintances", which was a step higher than "rivals", which had been their previous affliction.

This is why it was no surprise when Katsuko grinned happily when she saw Sasuke standing at the fence, waiting as usual. She walked a little faster, trailed by Midnight, who had grown into a handsome young Bombay tom. He was roughly around two months old now, plenty strong enough to walk now, but small enough for Katsuko to worry when they were in crowds of more than five. Besides, he stumbled quite a lot, and so she usually carried him unless they were on a smooth surface, like a mattress or a tile floor.

Sasuke greeted her with a much less infuriating smirk than he used with everyone else; the smirk Katsuko had grown used to was much warmer, and much _less_smug, than his usual bad-boy smirk **(A/N: Hark, I hear a fangirl squealing!)**

"Hey Sasuke-san," she said, handing Midnight to him as she usually did before scaling the fence. As was usual, Sasuke slid Midnight through the fence once Katsuko had landed on the other side. And as was usual, she waited until Sasuke had also scaled the fence before walking towards the school building. Those they passed murmured mischievously about whether or not the two were _really _"just friends", since it's the most overused cover-up line in the history of mankind.

One figure, however, didn't find any of the current developments funny or cute in the least.

He found it much less amusing when some girl came up to him and said, "Did you hear the latest gossip? I hear Uchiha and Mizuki are getting closer by the day!" "By the hour, even!" another girl squealed. They walked off, giggling to themselves.

And so Aries's anger was refueled.

**§§§§§§**

The day went on as normal until an announcement came over the intercom during Algebra II.

"Attention: All students are to report to the auditorium for an important announcement from the principal."

"Why?" Katsuko moaned.

"Because I said so."_Click._

"How does she _do_that?" **(A/N: Alright, I stole that off of Muppets Treasure Island. Shut up)**

**§§§§§§**

Once they had al crammed into the auditorium, Principal Tsunade snatched a microphone from Shizune and barked, "Okay, listen up! I have two very important announcements to make!"

"One, our school's name is being changed as of next Monday. If you have any suggestions, drop them off at my office. NO GOOFING OFF!" She glared pointedly at a select few jokers before continuing.

"Two, there will be a dance in three weeks. Positions for planners and setup are still op–"

"WE'LL DO IT!" The squealy voices belonged to Ino, Sakura, and Temari.

"We still have five more positions, so don't be shy," Tsunade said, glowering at the three girls, possibly willing them to spontaneously combust. Which they didn't, but, oh well.

"Appropriate outfits include dresses that don't show anything more than an inch below the collar bone, T-shirts, shorts, skirts, and any appropriate accessories. Inappropriate clothes include skimpy dresses or skirts, short-shorts, obscenely obvious accessories, and of course, going shirtless." She shot another glare at the aforementioned troublemakers.

"You're dis–"

"Attention: All students are to take the rest of today and tomorrow off because Tsunade has a buttload of paperwork that she needs to get done before you can continue attending this school."

Students ran out of the auditorium, pushing and shoving to get out first. Freshmen were trampled and (somehow) stuffed into garbage cans. Girls screamed. Boys started fighting. Seniors stood laughing at all the lowerclassmen while Tsunade turned her eagle's glare on the Seniors. Katsuko started kicking random people's butts, and soon Naruto and Midnight started helping **(A/N: Yes, they still managed to corrupt poor Midoru-kun. But he's only fighting because Katsuko is.) **Unari and Hinata tried to break up various fights, while Neji and Gaara tried to keep Aries and Sasuke from seeing each other, an occurrence that could possibly result in School War II **(A/N: See Chapter 12)**

Sasuke finally managed to find Katsuko and drag her and Midnight out of the crowd. Both brawlers were untouched, though their opponents couldn't truthfully say the same. Sasuke managed to keep Katsuko from charging back into the crowd until the only people left were the kids they'd been going to school with since elementary school.

Naruto and Kiba were scratched up from brawls of their own, and Akamaru was laying on Kiba's head, panting like he'd never breathed before. Neji came out of whatever secret nook in the wall he'd been hiding in. Tenten, Sakura, and Ino were dragging a still-belligerent Temari away from a poor Freshman who'd called her fat when she'd blocked the door. Shikamaru, Gaara, and Chouji stood off to the side, watching with mild interest. Hinata and Unari were with them. Aries… had already left.

The group looked at each other, possibly reminiscing about all the times they'd been in the same room like this as younger children. And, just like they did as little children, they slowly started to slide to their normal groups again. True, the groups weren't the same this year, but they were still evident.

A sort of silent shift in views took place as each person saw which groups had changed, which had formed, and which had withstood the years of endurance. Even Unari and Gaara looked surprised at the new shift in allegiances.

At the beginning of the year, Naruto, Kiba, Chouji, Shikamaru, Akamaru, and Caroline had formed the Troublemakers. Unari, Gaara, Neji, and Sasuke had been the unofficial Cool kids, while Hinata and Tenten sort of did their own thing. And then of course there were the Preppies, Ino, Sakura, and Temari.

Now the groups were mixed up. Shikamaru, Chouji, Kiba, Akamaru, and Naruto were still the Troublemakers, and still friends with Katsuko, but it appeared that her growing friendship with Sasuke had placed her and Midnight in what was now the Cool kids group. Neji, Gaara, and Unari still held up the original Cool kids group, but it seemed that they were gravitating away from the other group, forming what could be a rival group in the future years. Tenten was apparently one of the Preppies now, and Hinata seemed to have become the go-between for those who were friends with members of other groups.

The group stood silently, remembering the new groups, deciding then and there who to befriend and who to begin to hate. Midnight looked bored as they stared each other down, but he, too, was making sure he knew the new boundaries as well as they did.

Finally, they silently exited the room, one group at a time. Not a word was spoken, not a glance was exchanged between groups. No one came close to brushing against someone from a different group. Today had changed the social makeup of the group, and for at least today, they would stay silently and invisibly hostile towards the groups they wouldn't belong to.

The hallways of the school had never been so quite with the entire group in them at the same time.

* * *

**A/N: Ooh, things are getting interesting!**

**Damn, I missed the deadline!**

…

**No Trivia for you! Bwahaha.**


	18. Yet another note Sorry guys

**A Note:**

**Yay! I'm back! Well, on this account anyway. To any of my readers who found an author named 13BloodMoon13, that's my other account. No, she was not lying; Blood is my other half. XD**

**No, I'm not schizo. As far as you know.**

**Anywho, sorry the new **_**actual **_**chapter isn't out yet, but first things first. I need to make a slight change to the rules of the chapter ten quiz.**

**Rule change number one: the test was supposed to be open until the story ended. I might decide to end it sooner if I post another in-story test. Be on the lookout for news on this rule-change; any announcements will be **_**in my author's notes at the end of each chapter.**_

**Rule change number two: the winner of the test (earning their very own character in the story) was supposed to be the one who got every single question completely right. Since only a genius or a god, neither of which are likely to like my crap-stories (I'm offending myself, not you guys), could pull this off, I've changed this rule for certain. Now the three highest scores by the end of the test and/or story will get their own characters. So, good luck!**

**So, in conclusion, it's good to be back, have fun with the test, and don't forget to check out 13BloodMoon13's profile, too.**

**Glad to be back,**

**-Wrath**

**P.S.**

**I'm not sure if I'll continue having two accounts, or if I'll give the new one (not this one) to one of my friends. So if 13BloodMoon13 starts changing her name or acting weird and/or writing weird stuff, it's probably not my account anymore.**


	19. Late Night Fun

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. However, I kidnapped Deidara again and bribed him with shiny things, so he shouldn't get away this time.**

**I think I just heard my basement explode… **_**Deidara! **_**Dammit, you can't leave him alone for five seconds! Gah!**

* * *

The next day things were back to normal, though there was still some tension between the new groups. It was almost certain that there would be some battles between them as the groups struggled for dominance (since all the old social standings had been lost with the old groups), but after things settled down the tension would go away.

After leaving the school grounds, the groups had gone to sleepovers (last-minute planning is a beautiful thing) or had simply secretly spent the night sitting on roofs or wandering around. As far as Katsuko knew, she and Midnight were the only ones wandering around. Her instincts were sharpened to the maximum; there would be no sneaking up on her _this _time around. Midnight prowled next to her, his eyes wide and his head swinging constantly to take in every aspect of his surroundings.

The light wind was cold, and whipped around the two with merciless humor; it would blow for a few minutes, then stopped long enough for their skin to warm up a little before blowing again. It was like the Fates had suddenly developed a sense of humor. **(A/N: the Fates were three women in Greek mythology that controlled the life of every living person, and yes Katsuko believes in fate)**

A mewl brought Katsuko's attention back to Midnight, who'd fallen on his rump. The look on his face clearly said,_ I'm cold, I've fallen, and I refuse to get up. _Katsuko sighed and went back to retrieve the furball, cradling him gently in her arms as she continued walking. Midoru-kun purred and nuzzled her chin.

Katsuko wasn't really sure _why _she was walking around outside at night, especially since she was still so paranoid about it right now, but she didn't really care much, either, so she let it go. Besides, aside from the frigid weather, it was actually pretty nice tonight; every star in the sky was visible.

And she needed a quiet setting so she could sort her thoughts out.

By the time she got back to her house, it was very late; her father had already gone to sleep. She could hear his snoring from the front door.

Wearily, she trudged upstairs to her room, still holding Midnight safely in her arms. The stairs creaked and groaned eerily, signs of the house's old age and lack of upkeep. Crickets chirped loudly outside, adding to the haunted house effect. Katsuko felt the hair on her neck stand up; this was like a cheesy horror movie.

But when she stepped into her room, the lights were still on, and nothing seemed out of place at all.

Until someone tackled her from behind, yelling, "Kats-chan! I need your help!" Katsuko yelped and rolled onto the floor, squashing her attacker.

"Ow!"

She rolled back to her feet and said, "You!" while pointing accusingly at the person.

Okay, so it was an odd thing to do when your attacker had just been squashed on the floor of your bedroom, but Katsuko was anything but normal, as I'm sure you're aware of at this point.

Besides, an out-of-breath Naruto was hardly anything to be worried about. The hyperactive knucklehead lay panting on the floor, at the same time shooting her the dirtiest look he could manage. "What'd you do that for?" he demanded when he had enough breath to talk again.

"Same reason you snuck into my house and football tackled me!" Katsuko retorted, helping her idiot friend to his feet, "What are you doing here, anyway? I thought the new groups were on temporary speaking-to-each-other probation."

"Uh," Naruto said sheepishly, "I kinda need help rehearsing my lines for the play."

"…"

"…"

"……"

"……"

"………"

"………"

"You're joking, right?" Katsuko finally asked, looking at him like he'd suddenly grown a third arm or something, "Since when does Naruto Uzumaki care about schoolwork?"

"Well, it's a play, and Hinata was talking to Tenten about–"

"You were eavesdropping on _Hinata_?"

"…"

"…"

"Yes."

………

"_AAW!"_

* * *

Five minutes, two arguments, and several punches and kicks later, the two were rehearsing their lines with each other. They had reached the scene where Firman (Shikamaru's part) and Andre (Naruto's part) were reading the letters the Phantom (Gaara's part) had sent them.

"_Dear Andre, what an awesome–"_

"It's 'what a _charming _gala'."

"_Dear Andre, what a charming gala. Christie was–"_

"Christine."

"…_Christine was, in a word, subliminal–"_

"Sublime."

"Gah, this is too hard!" Naruto yelled, falling on his butt and scratching his head as though that would somehow help speed up the process of memorizing his lines.

"You give up too easily!" Katsuko laughed, throwing a pillow at him, "Besides, you've done pretty well. You've memorized… probably about a third of your lines. That's pretty good, considering it's you trying to memorize his lines."

She looked at Naruto curiously and asked, "By the way, why _are _you so intent on this, anyway? You were complaining about how stupid and boring it was a few days ago. Why the change of heart?"

He blushed a little and sheepishly admitted, "I… I'm kinda doing it to impress Hinata. I heard her telling Tenten that she really looked up to the people that had already memorized their lines after only three weeks. She's only got one line – unless laughing doesn't count as a line – so I thought, maybe if I memorized my lines really well by the next rehearsal, maybe she'd be impressed."

Katsuko's jaw dropped; Naruto really _did _like Hinata? Holy cows and ice cream! **(A/N: Don't. Ask.)**

"Naruto," she said slowly, "I think she's been impressed with you for a long time already."

"Huh? What do you mean, Kats?"

"She's had a crush on you since the day she met you, kiddo."

"_SERIOUSLY?"_

"Yes. Seriously."

"I can't believe I've never noticed before!"

"Neither can anyone else."

* * *

Meanwhile, in the tree outside Katsuko's window **(A/N: Lol, last-minute planning rules!)**, a dark figure sat looking into Katsuko's room, watching with jealous eyes as Katsuko and Naruto laughed and started throwing pillows at each other.

_Who does that knucklehead think he is? _the figure thought furiously, _If he knows what's good for him, he'll get lost. Soon._

* * *

A few moments later, Naruto yawned and stuffed his copy of the script into his backpack.

"I gotta get home," he said, stifling another yawn, "It's gotta be close to midnight."

"Mrow?"

"No, the _other _midnight, Midnight. The time."

"Meow." _Purr._

"See you Naruto," Katsuko said, punching his arm, "We can practice again tomorrow, alright?"

"Sounds good. See you tomorrow, then."

When the door had been closed, Katsuko turned to close the blinds on her window.

As soon as the blinds were closed, the ceiling light went out; the only source of light was her clock radio, and its red numbers cast an eerie gleam on the room.

"Damn light!" Katsuko growled, turning to storm over to the light switch. She bumped into someone halfway to the door; before she could react, the intruder wrapped their arms around her and kicked her feet out from under her.

As they fell to the ground, Katsuko caught a glimpse of the intruder's face in the moonlight.

"Sasuke?"

* * *

**A/N: Cliffhangers shall rule the world! Bwahahahahaha!**

**Trivia: Katsuko's house is a two-story Victorian. Her dad's a fan of big houses.**


	20. That Was Weird

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I chased Deidara about fifty blocks before he finally figured out that I **_**hadn't **_**stolen his clay. He was last seen riding into the sunset on a clay horse with no name.**

**My god, I have issues…**

* * *

"Sasuke?" Katsuko's voice shook with uncertainty and surprise as she looked up at the figure above her.

He didn't answer her, and instead she felt his lips press gently against her own. His tongue ran soothingly across her lips until they parted; suddenly he was exploring every inch of enamel and flesh in her mouth. Katsuko groaned and pressed her torso to his, silently asking for more.

And he complied. Holding her back, he sat up, bringing her with him. As the kiss deepened, he ran his hands along her back and sides, causing another moan to erupt from her throat. His hands slid down to the bottom hem of Katsuko's shirt; his fingers snaked under the fabric and teased her skin, making her shudder in delight.

A knock came at the door, and they heard Katsuko's father ask, "Katsuko? Are you okay in there?"

"I love you." The voice was _definitely _Sasuke's.

With a final kiss on Katsuko's nose, Sasuke opened the window, slid onto the tree branch next to it, and closed the window. Katsuko threw the binds shut and turned around, just as her father entered the room.

The light flickered on, and Katsuko blinked, blinded by the sudden brightness. This is why she had darkly colored walls. It reduced the strain when the light suddenly went on or off; if it had, oh, white walls, maybe, she would be permanently blind.** (A/N: I should know… ow…)**

When she could see again, Katsuko saw that her father was holding what in his hands could be a very deadly weapon: a baseball mitt.

"Katsuko?" her father asked again, "Are you okay?"

"I f-feel kind of sick," she said. It wasn't a complete lie; if she'd actually eaten her brother's awful cooking tonight, she might have something to actually throw up, but it wasn't because she was _sick._

"Maybe you should stay home from school tomorrow."

Hm. It was a tempting offer; school was beginning to grind her last raw nerve, and the students weren't making things better. Still, tomorrow she had Drama; so far into the class, she couldn't afford to miss even one rehearsal. Besides, Sasuke would be there…

Whoa, where did _that _come from?!

"Yah, you're probably right," Katsuko agreed, crawling slowly into bed, "Darn, I was really looking forward to tomorrow, though."

"Well, health should come first, Kats," her dad said. She could practically see him doing a victory dance in his mind.

She waited until the light went out and the door was closed before sitting up and going to her computer. True, it was about… one forty-seven in the morning, according to her clock radio… but she couldn't wait until her dad went to work tomorrow. She needed to email Hinata – and maybe Unari, as well – about what had happened tonight.

* * *

_Morning, at the Sabishii residence…_

"Yo, Emo! You got an email from 'silverdemonspirit'."

"Alright, I'm coming."

Unari sat wearily at her computer and opened the said email, titled "Read this now or so help me you are dead." Three guesses who _that _was. **(A/N: Ooh, Dejá Vú!)**

It was a quick email, probably only about fifty words, but the message was still surprising.

_Unari-_

_Why the hell am I writing to you? Anyway, I kinda need your advice on something. Sasuke came by last night – or tonight… on Wednesday night – and… it was weird. He knocked me off my feet, then he started making out with me. And I _liked _it._

_Please help. I'm confused._

_-Katsuko_

_P.S._

_I'm taking a sick day today._

Unari's eyebrows went up. _That was unexpected, _she thought.

_**You said it, yep-yep! **__Oh god, you're back. __**Never left, nope-nope! **__Why can't I just get hit by a drunk driver in an eighteen-wheeler? __**Because I won't let you, uh-uh. **__I wish I was dead._

* * *

_Meanwhile, at the Hyūga mansion…_

Neji had woken up first, again. He had a feeling Hinata and Hanabi were sleeping in on purpose, but he brushed the thought aside. Hinata wasn't that evil. Hanabi, on the other hand…

There was only one new message, from silverdemonspirit, titled "ANYONE WHO READS THIS AND ISN'T HINATA IS DOG FOOD."

As before, Neji ignored the warning and opened the email.

_Hinata-_

_Hi. Uhm, I was kinda wondering if you could help me with something?_

_See, Sasuke was here last night, and –_

"Neji, why are you reading my emails?"

Said Hyūga ­jumped and spun around in the seat to face Hinata, bedraggled and sleepy-eyed, still in her PJs, and holding a cup of tea.

"Uhm, I was just making sure it wasn't spam or anything," Neji said, thinking fast. He got up and left as Hinata sat down to read the email.

_Uchiha and Katsuko? _he wondered as he walked to the showers, _Not a bad match, actually; I wonder what they were doing…_

He'd have to ask Sasuke when he saw him at school.

Meanwhile, Hinata had finished reading where Neji had left off (she'd been reading over his shoulder prior to asking him why he was reading her emails).

…_and we made out. It was cool; he pretended to be some intruder, then he knocked my feet out from under me and started kissing me. We almost got caught; my dad would have beaten Sasuke up with a baseball mitt if Sasuke hadn't moved so fast._

_He told me he loved me._

_I feel really confused… and happy, for some reason. I'm taking a sick day today to give myself some time to think it over._

_I completely forgot the other thing I was going to tell you… Oh yah! I found out last night that Naruto's starting to be interested in you! Awesome, right?_

_Talk to you later,_

_-Katsuko_

_Naruto likes me? _Hinata's face turned beet red.

3…2…1…

_Thump._

"Hinata? Hinata! Are you okay?"

* * *

_Late morning, back at the Mizuki residence… Wow, I move around too much…_

It was around eight forty-five in the morning, and Katsuko still had not gotten much (if any) sleep. Each time she closed her eyes, memories of the night before would flash behind her eyelids. Turning on Within Temptation didn't distract her in the least.

Groaning, she finally got up and stalked back to her computer.

With shaking fingers, she wrote Hinata a second email:

_Hinata-_

_Help! I feel sick. Like really sick! Please respond ASAP!_

_-Katsuko_

Once she hit send, a wave of exhaustion fell over her, and she face-faulted on the computer desk, snoring loudly.

* * *

**A/N: Romance! Booyah!**

**Next chapter: Katsuko describes her symptoms to "doctor" Hinata, and gets a shocking response!**

**Trivia: Katsuko doesn't normally snore unless she hasn't slept for more than two hours. If she's only had an hour to no sleep at all, her snoring can be heard from Japan to England... In either direction (moving west across Europe and Asia or moving east across America)...  
**


	21. Detention, Not Symptoms

**Disclaimer: Still no sign of Deidara. However, I patched up the basement and have kidnapped Neji-kun. Oh the fun I will have.**

**Huh? Neji, how'd you-?**

_**Bonk.**_

**This is Neji. I am holding Wrath hostage until she stops kidnapping people. Not that she probably considers being held hostage by me a bad thing…**

_**Bash.**_

**This is Wrath again. Neji has been knocked out with a frying pan. Now on with the story.**

* * *

_The following is an IM conversation between Unari and Hinata during study hall at Konoha High._

**Unari: **So I hear Katsuko and Sasuke made out last night.

**Hinata: **Yes, she sent me an email this morning.

**Unari: **She sent me one, too.

**Hinata: **Why? I thought she hated you.

**Unari: **She did. She still does, just not as much.

**Hinata: **Oh.

**Unari: **Oh, by the way there's a sleepover at my house tomorrow night.

**Hinata: **Why doesn't she hate you as much?

**Unari: **Huh?

**Hinata: **What? Wait, you answer my question, then I'll respond

**Hinata: **to the sleepover thing.

**Unari: **It might have something to do with the fact that I helped fight Aries.

**Hinata: **Okay, now I'll respond to the sleepover thing.

**Hinata: **Awesome, can I come?

**Unari: **Sure. Maybe Katsuko can come too?

**Hinata: **Maybe.

"Ahem."

The two girls looked up to see Mr. Sarutobi (not the dead one, I mean Asuma Sarutobi) standing over them, his arms crossed.

"Having a good conversation?"

Hinata and Unari looked at each other and chorused, "Busted."

* * *

_The following is an IM conversation between Sasuke, Neji, Shikamaru, Naruto, and Kiba, also during Study Hall._

**Neji: **You and Katsuko, eh?

**Sasuke: **Yah.

**Kiba: **What happened?

**Naruto: **Did you get in her pants?

**Shikamaru: **Were you caught?

**Sasuke: **We made out. No, Naruto you're disgusting. And no, I got away in time.

**Kiba: **Dude.

**Naruto: **Dude.

**Neji: **Awesome.

"You guys too, huh?"

"Busted."

"Totally."

* * *

"You guys, too, huh?"

Unari and Hinata watched as Neji, Sasuke, Naruto, Shikamaru, and Kiba (trailed by Akamaru) walked glumly into the detention room. The door slammed shut behind them.

"Yah," Naruto said, "Hey, by the way, who's the detention teacher?"

"That would be me."

All the students turned to see Anko (the evil Drama teacher) sitting at her desk, her hands folded and her face adorned with an all-too-innocent smile.

Someone screamed; all eyes turned to Naruto as he cowered behind Sasuke. It was well-known that Anko terrified him; in fact, anyone who _wasn't _terrified of the dramatic Drama teacher was thought to be either stupid, insane, or both.

"Get off!" Sasuke growled, punching Naruto in the face. The blond flew across the room, hit the wall, and fell to the ground with a _thud._

"Brutal," Kiba said, giving Sasuke a high-five.

"Alright, shut up and sit down," Anko yelled, "This is detention, not a preschool playground!"

Everyone sat down simultaneously, not willing to suffer Anko's wrath.

"Good," Anko said, "Now I'm going to read my book, and if I _hear_ any of you talk, you're all going to _sprint _fifty laps around the football field."

"Yes ma'am," the students chorused.

"Good," Anko repeated. Then she picked up her book, _The Art of War, _and started reading.

* * *

_The following is a conversation (via notes) during detention._

**Unari: **Neji, did you get any info out of (picture of a duck's behind)?

**Sasuke: **That's cold, Unari.

**Neji: **This is _my_ note, Duck-butt Boy! And yes.

**Naruto: **Hi!

**Unari: **Naruto go away!

"You're mean, Unari!"

"Naruto, you idiot!"

"What'd I do?"

"Don't let her hear you–"

"That's it, you're all sprinting laps!"

"_Kiba!_"

"Hey, Naruto was talking too!"

"Well Unari was–"

"_Move, _maggots!"

"Gah! Hide me!"

"Get _off,_ dobe!"

* * *

_Katsuko's house, after school…_

"I have a feeling I missed out on something today," Katsuko told Midoru-kun as she waited for her clock to say 3:25. Currently it was still saying 3:10. No wait, 3:11.

"Meow?" (We're assuming this is kitty-speak for, "What makes you say that?")

"I kinda feel like everyone's having more fun than me today," Katsuko revealed, "Like they're pissing all the teachers off or something."

As if on cue, someone pounded on her door; screams of "Let us in!" and "Open the door or I'll kick down!" could be heard outside.

"You kick my door down and I'll tear your legs off and beat you to death with them!" Katsuko roared back as she stalked over to the door. Midnight yowled in agreement as he followed closely behind her.

She threw the door open to find Unari, Naruto, Kiba (with Akamaru), Neji, Hinata, Sasuke, and Shikamaru standing outside, all looking frantic.

"What happened to you guys?" Katsuko asked as they all charged in at once (she didn't miss the Naruto's hand holding Hinata's wrist as he dragged her in behind him).

"We pissed all the teachers off," Kiba said, sitting on her bed, "Now Anko and Mr. Sarutobi – not the dead one – and Principal Tsunade are after us!"

"How'd you manage that in _one day_?"

"Well, we kind of wouldn't stop talking," Naruto said, "And we ran off when Anko – did you know she's also our detention teacher? – made us sprint fifty laps around the football field."

"Jeez you guys are morons," Katsuko said grumpily.

"I know," Sasuke agreed, nodding in approval. Maybe Katsuko was finally growing up.

"I mean, getting into that much trouble _without _me? How could you?"

Nope, she was still a toddler in a teenager's body; Sasuke resisted the urge to slap his forehead while Unari and Hinata visibly rolled their eyes and Kiba and Naruto snickered.

"So sorry to disappoint you," Neji said sarcastically.

Katsuko stuck her tongue out at him, which was the cue for Midoru-kun to go over to the Hyūga and attack, getting himself tangled in Neji's hair.

"Ow, ow, _ow!_ Get your cat off of me!!"

"So now you guys are hiding from the teachers?" Katsuko asked, completely ignoring poor Neji as he tried to wrestle Midnight out of his hair.

"Yep," Unari said blankly.

"In my house?"

"Yep."

"And you don't think that's the first place the teachers will look?"

"…"

"…"

"……"

"……"

"…Oops," Unari finally said, "Methinks we're dead."

"I hate you Unari," Katsuko growled.

"Well, we should be safe," Unari said, "I mean, it's not like they'll come crashing into the room, demanding that we serve detention for a month, right?"

_Bang, bang, bang._

"_Katsuko!"_

"I really, _really _hate you, Unari."

* * *

**A/N: Okay, so that last bit was borrowed from "Naruto: The Abridged Series," which was created by the hilarious Vegeta3986 and MasakoX. The actual dialogue goes like this:**

"**The show's called **_**Naruto, **_**right?"**

"**Yah."**

"**And we're sad extras, right?"**

"**Uh-huh…"**

"**And you want us to chase said main character?"**

"**Is there a problem?"**

"…**I hate you Phil. Can we at least get killed by somebody **_**cool?**_**"**

**-Shikamaru shows up-**

"**I really, **_**really **_**hate you, Phil!"**

**Yes, I know I said this chapter would be Katsuko telling Hinata her "symptoms", but I came up with a really good idea and ran out of space. So, **_**Next **_**chapter will start off with the symptoms, then we shall see some more chaos. Mwahahahahahaha.**

**Trivia: Midnight is now addicted to playing in Neji's hair. Oh, the fun I will have writing these next chapters.**

**Neji: You're evil!**

**Wrath: Yes, yes I am. Now be quiet.**

**Neji: Not again!**

**Wrath: Bye!  
**


	22. Symptoms is very hard to spell

**Disclaimer: I have now glomped Neji an upwards of fifty times in the course of three days. Booyah.**

**Neji: For the love of God, somebody save me!**

**Quiet, you! Enjoy the chapter, pplz! ;)**

* * *

Once everyone had been dragged out of Katsuko's house (a scene filled with so many thrashings and swear words that we couldn't really show much without a gigantic lump of beeping blurs), Hinata got onto her computer **(A/N: Ha, you thought I was going to stay with Katsuko, didn't you?!) **and checked her emails.

"Aren't you even a _little _upset by the fact that our TV privileges are _gone _for the rest of the calendar year?" Neji asked as he scalped – er, brushed the tangles out of his hair.

Hey, it _looked _like he was scalping himself, alright? Shut up!

**(A/N: This is Neji, I have hijacked Wrath's laptop. Please, if anyone has a crowbar or some bolt-cutters–) (A/N: Hey, that's mine! Gimme! **_**Bonk. **_**Hi, it's Wrath again. Stupid Neji, interrupting my story…)**

"No," Hinata said, "N-not really. You can w-watch most television shows on th-the internet, Neji-niisan."

"Oh."

Awkward silence, then…

"So can I watch my soap operas when you're done?"

"Sure."

**(A/N: Neji says, "Hey! That's cold, Wrath!")**

Hinata opened the first email in her inbox, titled, "I SWEAR TO KAMI, NEJI, IF YOU READ THIS EMAIL I WILL KILL YOU AND FEED YOU TO THE WOLVES!!"

"Neji-niisan," Hinata said, "H-have you been reading my emails?"

"No," Neji responded too quickly.

Hinata looked at him dubiously, then went back to reading her email.

_Hinata-_

_Help! I feel sick. Like really sick! Please respond ASAP!_

_-Katsuko_

_**I wonder what her newest problem is, **_her inner sighed as Hinata typed an email to Katsuko:

_Katsuko-chan,_

_Calm down. I'll be on the Konoha High IM, okay? Talk to me there._

_-Hinata_

_P.S. Neji isn't buying your death threats. You may have to make Midoru-chan attack him._

She hit "send" and then went straight to the KHSIM (soon to be called something else with the change of school name) to wait for Katsuko.

* * *

_**The following is an IM conversation between Hinata and Katsuko…**_

**Hinata: **Katsuko? Are you on?

**Katsuko: **Yes.

**Hinata: **So, what's up? What are your symptoms?

**Katsuko: **Oh, Hinata, it's awful! I can't eat, I can't sleep!

**Katsuko: **I can barely breathe half the time!

**Hinata: **Euphoria?

**Katsuko: **And I'll start feeling really lonely… even with

**Katsuko: **Midnight… And then I feel really happy, like

**Katsuko: **I'm high, or something. Then I feel awful, and then,

**Katsuko: **wonderful! And then awfully wonderful, and

**Katsuko: **wonderfully awful!

**Hinata: **You just quoted _The Hunchback of Notre Dame. _You

**Hinata: **know that, right?

**Katsuko: **I did?

**Katsuko: **_See? _Something's wrong with me!!

**Hinata: **I think you're in love, Katsuko.

**Hinata: **Katsuko?

**Katsuko: **I'm sorry, I must have something in my eye. I thought

**Katsuko: **you said that I'm _in love._

**Katsuko: **But that can't be right. I'm just gonna wash my eyes out here

**Katsuko: **and re-read that last line.

**Katsuko: **Oh my god, that is what you typed.

**Katsuko: **Who do you think I'm in love with??

**Katsuko: **Hinata?

**Hinata: **You must be spending too much time around Naruto. You're obviously

**Hinata: **in love with Sasuke.

**Katsuko: **…

**Hinata: **Katsuko?

**Katsuko: **I… I gotta go. Talk 2 you later.

**Katsuko has signed off.**

**Hinata has signed off.**

* * *

"Meow?"

Katsuko looked down at Midnight. The fur ball's golden eyes were wide with worry as he placed a paw on Katsuko's nose. Katsuko smiled and scratched Midnight behind the ears, her thoughts still focused on what Hinata had typed.

_You're obviously in love with Sasuke._

Katsuko shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts, and looked mischievously at Midoru-kun.

"Let's go get Neji for reading my emails," she said.

"Mrow," Midnight responded evilly.

* * *

_10:48 pm, outside Neji's room…_

"Okay, Midnight," Katsuko whispered, "you know what to do."

Midnight purred in response and leapt to the open window of Neji's room.

_The pansy's already asleep! _Katsuko realized. The light in his room was off, and the lump on his bed could only be Neji.

_Oh, well. It'll make it easier and funnier to videotape this… __**This is so completely evil! **__Who cares? __**…I'll condone it if you apologize before putting the tape on the internet. **__Deal._

Grinning, Katsuko leapt into the room and turned her camcorder on. Midnight looked expectantly at her, poised next to the unsuspecting Neji's head.

Katsuko held up her hand, took a deep breath, and gave the okay signal.

* * *

"_YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW!!"_

"Oh, great shot!"

"Mrow!"

"Katsuko! Get your cat out of my roo– _OWWW!!_"

"Go, Midnight, go!"

"You're taping this?!"

"Yep!"

"Meow!" _Claw._

"Ow, ow, ow, _OW!!_"

"Okay Midnight, run!"

"Meow!"

"Ow! Your cat just scalped me!"

"…'Tis just a flesh wound. Bye!"

"Katsuko!"

* * *

_12:00 am, Katsuko's house_

Still laughing, Katsuko quietly climbed into her room, Midnight riding on her shoulders.

"That was fun," Katsuko said enthusiastically, "Should we post it now or later?" As she spoke she threw something onto her bed. It was the object they'd managed to steal from Neji's house: a stuffed bear.

**(A/N: Authoress stops to laugh evilly for about an hour)**

"Meow." _Bap._ **(A/N: No, that was not a "now". Midnight is pawing her nose while meowing, an indicator that he means "later".)**

"Right, we should wait a few hours, just to lull Neji into a false sense of safety," Katsuko said, cackling evilly.

Awkward silence.

"Still, while we're waiting, we may as well go online and browse around for awhile, right?"

"Mew!"

* * *

To: silverdemonspirit

From: flyingfree7393

Subject: Don't even think about it

Katsuko, I swear to Kami if you post that video I will murder you.

May I ask why you did that? It was completely random and evil and now I have to untangle my hair AGAIN. Do you have ANY idea how much combing the rat's nests out of my hair HURTS? Evil female…

Neji.

P.S.

Yes, I DO spend an hour on my hair every morning, just in case you decide to ask. And if you tell ANYONE that I still sleep with a… teddy bear… I will kill you and throw your stupid cat at a pack of hungry wolves.

* * *

To: redeye

From: silverdemonspirit

Subject: Check this video out!

Click **here** to see the video I recorded of Midoru-kun attacking Neji.

Katsuko.

P.S.

I was wondering, do you use hair gel to style your hair, or do you just wake up with it?

* * *

To: Howl69

From: silverdemonspirit

Subject: Check it out!

Click **here** to see the video I recorded of Midoru-kun attacking Neji.

Katsuko.

P.S.

Howl69? Why the HELL do you have a 69 in your email address?

P.S.S.

I didn't know you could capitalize your screename. Interesting.

* * *

To: silverdemonspirit

From: Howl69

Subject: You evil, evil person…

I'm assuming Neji is going to kill you for this…

Has Sasuke seen this yet? Should be interesting to see what happens tomorrow if he has.

Unari

P.S.

The 69 is for… uhm… shut up.

P.S.S.

Yes, you can capitalize your screename. Just about everyone who knows ANYTHING about computers knows this.

* * *

To: silverdemonspirit

From: redeye

Subject: RE: Check this video out!

Oh my Kami. When did you take this? You are going to post it on YouTube, right?

If this earns you any cash, can I have fifty percent?

Sasuke.

P.S.

Sort of both. It's about twice as messy until I put some gel on it.

* * *

To: flyingfree7393

From: redeye

Subject: Neji Hyuga is doomed

So, Neji, what's it like to be an internet sensation?

Go check out this movie: **link**. It already has over seven hundred views.

Wishing I could see the look on your face right now,

Sasuke.

* * *

To: Howl69

From: silverdemon)spirit

Subject: Shut the hell up.

Uhm, earth to Unari, I spend most of my time OUTSIDE, WITH ANIMALS, or PULLING PRANKS THE LIKES OF WHICH THE WORLD HAS NEVER SEEN BEFORE.

Why in Kami's name would I know ANYTHING about computers short of how to type and web-surf?

Katsuko.

P.S.

Send the link for the Neji vid to everyone in the school. He'll be a superstar by sun-up!

* * *

To: redeye

From: flyingfree7393

Subject: Damn

I'm going to murder your girlfriend.

Neji.

* * *

To: flyingfree7393

From: Howl69

Subject: Friendly heads-up…

Uhm, since I kinda-sorta used to like you, I feel I should probably warn you that Katsuko posted your video on the homepage of the school website. I just checked.

Oh, and I've sent the link to the video to all of my friends outside of school, plus all of my (known) family, plus some family friends in Italy.

Katsuko made me do it, sorry.

Oh, don't email me back if you want an immediate response, because I need to go and play with Hisoka, and then I will be going to sleep, so don't expect me to even SEE your email until about dawn.

Sorry for slaughtering your reputation,

Unari

* * *

To: silverdemonspirit

From: flyingfree7393

Subject: I hate you

I told you NOT to post the video! So much for my reputation.

I'm coming over to your house, RIGHT NOW, and killing you and your evil cat.

Neji.

* * *

To: flyingfree7393

From: redeye

Subject: Don't even think about it

You lay one hand on Katsuko and you're dead.

Sasuke.

* * *

To: Howl69

From: flyingfree7393

She _WHAT?! _Now I'm REALLY going to kill her!

WHY would you DO something like that? I thought I could trust you!

Who's Hisoka? Some little relative you met two days ago? Seriously, you have WAY TOO MANY relatives.

Off to commit suicide via jumping in front of a speeding eighteen-wheeler,

Neji

* * *

To: flyingfree7393

From: silverdemonspirit

Subject: I like you, too.

Ooh, I'm SO scared. Midnight, hide me! XD

Katsuko.

* * *

_Katsuko's house, 3:37 am…_

Katsuko lay on her bed, sleeping with her back to the window. Midoru-kun was sleeping on her face, which for some unknown reason didn't bother her in the least.

The window to her room opened slightly; the cold breeze from outside brushed in and gently filled the room as the intruder silently climbed inside, closing the window with no noticeable noise. Katsuko shifted quietly in her sleep, and Midnight purred as he started dreaming of eating Neji's teddy bear **(A/N: Evil, evil kitty… have some tuna!)**, but neither noticed the shadow that fell across the bed.

The intruder's lips curled into an ominous smirk.

* * *

**A/N: Bwahahahahahahaha!! Cliffies are such an awesome way of avoiding – or in this case, **_**countering**_** – writer's block! Love it!**

**Yes, I think Neji sleeps with a teddy bear. Come on, you know you think the same. I mean, anyone who's **_**that **_**much of a bastard all the time must have **_**something **_**to hide, right? Plus, he got beat. By a furball. Yes, I had fun writing this chapter.**

**The IM and Email wars were ideas based off of Ren and Missa's **_**The Eccentric Files, **_**which is effing hilarious so go read it NOW.**

**Oh, and thanks to 00Midnight Siren00 for offering to help catch Itachi. You get the dango, I'll get the net. XD**

**Trivia: Neji's teddy bear is named Fang, though it's never revealed in the story. Just thought you should know.**


End file.
